The Plunge
by thematsaidwelcome
Summary: It's the beginning of the year and Michonne has decided to take the plunge, both literally and figuratively, will meeting Rick Grimes make the jump worth it, or will she decide that wading by herself is the best thing for her and her boys.
1. Chapter 1

"Is this your first time honey?"

"Yes," Michonne scrunched up her face and tightened her robe. "Is it that obvious?"

"A little. You look kind of scared." The short statured woman ran a hand through her short brown hair and patted Michonne on the hand.

"I'm so nervous. You must be a pro at this?"

"I've been doing this for about ten years now. The nerves never go away honey, because you never know how your body will respond. You just have to jump in and get it over with. Are you here by yourself?"

"Oh no. My boys are next door. They told me to meet them poolside."

"Too old for the women's locker room?"

"Yeah. They're 8."

"Both of them, twins?"

"Uh huh," Michonne tucked a few escaped locs back into her bun and then picked up her towel off the bench.

"Well, it's almost time. Make sure you hold their hands and y'all jump together. It helps when it's your first time."

"Thank you." Michonne tightened her belt again, this time to combat her nerves. She watched the woman walk away and through the doors leading outside. With one final exhale, Michonne did the same.

"Mom! There's so many people here. The lady over there said we have to stand in line and then after we jump in, we swim to the other side and get our towels and robes. They have hot chocolate and muffins in the lounge when we're done."

"Well, looks like you two got all the useful information that we need. Are we ready Carl?"

"Yep. It'll be a piece of cake." The trio walked to the other side of the huge pool, making sure to read the digital numbers on the square temperature gauge.

"It's 40 degrees out. I wonder how cold the pool is?" Carl asked. Michonne took a deep breath and walked a bit faster to help warm her up. She knew the water would be colder and if she thought about it too long, she'd talk herself out of doing this.

"Come on. They're starting to line up." Michonne and the boys rushed over to the metal benches and dropped their towels and untied their robes. The boys both wore red swimming trunks and black tank tops, blowing into their hands and bouncing up and down to keep warm. Michonne removed her robe and immediately started to rub her arms with her hands. Her white one piece tank swimming suit gave her a lot more coverage than her usual bikini, but it wasn't doing much to protect her from the cold outdoor temperature. "It's so cold. Are y'all sure you want to do this Andre?"

"Yes! Come on mom." Carl grabbed her left hand and Andre grabbed her right, both trying to hurry her up before she lost her nerve.

"Please line up the way you'll jump. No more than three at a time jumping please. Absolutley no diving. Once you're in the water, swim to the other side and hop out, your towels and robes will be waiting for you on the benches you left them on. After you've dried off and gone inside to get dressed, there will be warm refreshments in the meeting room for you to enjoy." The warmly dressed man finished his announcement through the red bullhorn he was using and set it down before he stripped down to his bright yellow swimming trunks. Michonne and her boys watched the first person jump feet first into the frigid water. They let out a yelp as their body registered the coldness and then they quickly swam to the other side of the pool and got out.

"Y'all are really sure about this?"

"Yes!" Both boys said at the same time. Michonne watched with bated breath as twelve more jumps were made. Singles, pairs and teams of three. All jumped in the same, but the sounds they made were different; shrieks, shouts and squeals in all octaves. They watched the young couple in front of them bounce around at the edge of the pool and then kiss and hold hands before jumping in. Carl was splashed with a drop of water and his arms were immediately covered in goosebumps.

"It's so cold mom!"

"Well, we're next, let me get..." Andre and Carl stood in front of Michonne and jumped before she could finish her pep talk. "Boys!" She shouted just as their feet hit the water, "We were supposed to jump together!" She placed her hands at her sides and exhaled a breath. She'd have to jump by herself and just wasn't sure if she could do it. She was putting on a brave face because of Carl and Andre, but she was terrified. Her sister talked her into this, somehow convincing her that this was the provovial beginning of the year cleanse she needed. _"New year, new town, new house, new you!"_ she said. " _Jump in and leave all the bad shit in the pool."_

Michonne watched her boys get out of the pool and she shivered against the cold. Taking one tentative step forward, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, she could do this.

"You can jump with us if you want." Michonne looked down at the brown haired girl who had just placed her hand in hers. Her lavender bathing suit was covered with pink and white unicorns what had silver glitter horns. She was smiling and looked back at a man in dark blue trunks. Before Michonne could look at his face, the girl started talking again. "Me and my daddy will hold your hand."

"Uhh..Judith," The man said cautiously.

"Will you?" Michonne asked. "I'm so nervous. That water looks really cold."

"Daddy hold her hand." Michonne felt a strong hand grab hers and she looked up at the stranger who was holding her hand and shyly smiling.

"Hi. I guess we're taking the plunge together."

"Looks like it," Michonne replied with a grateful smile.

"Ready daddy?" The little girl asked before she got into position and said loudly, "1."

"2," He gently nudged Michonne with his elbow to get her to continue with the count.

"Oh...3!" She squeezed both of their hands and all three jumped at the same time. It all seemed to happen in slow motion for Michonne. She could hear "go mom" being shouted but was too focused to see where it was coming from. She wasn't sure where the screech she let out came from, but she knew she made one. As soon as her toes broke the waves of the water her body responded to the cold by trying to get her brain to move her limbs to get her out as fast as possible. Her feet touched the concrete bottom and she bobbed in the water for a few seconds, hoping to remember why she was doing this in the first place. The giggle that came from the little girl on her right, brought Michonne to her senses and she followed her to the other side of the pool to get out. The girl had no trouble climbing out on her own, but Michonne couldn't get her frosty arms to hold her weight so she could pull herself up on the ledge.

"Let me help you," The man's voice said from behind her. He placed his hands on her hips and lifted as she pushed. It was a real team effort and she was grateful for his help, because as soon she was out, her towel was being thrown to her from Carl and she Andre was right behind him with her robe.

"Thank you," she told the man with was now drying off too, his wet hair dripping onto his face.

"No problem, uh... I gotta get her inside," he motioned to the little girl was starting to shiver and hopping from one foot to the other.

"Bye," the little girl waved to her and then took her daddy's hand, both of them rushing to the family locker to warm up.

"Bye sweetie. Thank you," Michonne shouted to her back before she also ran back into the locker room to shower and change back into her clothes. She laughed at herself after she pulled on her shirt and let her locs down, never has she moved around so much. She felt like a three year old who didn't know what it meant to stay still. She was afraid if she stopped moving, the chill would invade her body again.

"How was it?" The woman from earlier asked. "Looks like you survived."

"No thanks to my boys. They jumped without me."

"You did it by yourself? I'm impressed."

"Oh no, a nice little girl and her dad jumped with me. After the initial shock of the water, I think it's just pure adrenaline that gets you through it."

"That and the screaming," they both laughed and Michonne finished packing her wet clothes into her bag. "I'll let you finish. I bet your boys are waiting for you."

"It was nice meeting you…"

"Faye, Faye Sawyer."

"It was nice meeting you Faye, I'm Michonne," the two women shook hands and then recognition hit Faye.

"Oh yeah, Billy told me about you."

"Billy?"

"Down at Ray's auto shop. It's good to have you here," Faye zipped up her jacket and picked up her bag. "I'll probably see you around then."

"Okay," Michonne stood perplexed for a few minutes, running the conversation through her head a few times. She didn't know anyone named Billy and she hadn't needed an auto shop for anything since she moved. She shook it off for now and finished packing her bag so she could go find Andre and Carl.

"Finally! We've been waiting forever."

"No you haven't," Michonne took the bag that was being waved in her face from Carl. "Did you put socks on?"

"Yes. And we used the lotion and brushed our hair and I even put on a belt," Andre lifted his shirt to show the brown leather belt that was around his waist. "We're gonna go play in the rec room."

"They have a foosball table," Andre added.

"Okay. She watched their backs as they ran in sync towards a large room full of kids and music playing in the background. She stuffed their bag into hers, then followed her nose to the smell of freshly made muffins and coffee.

She was balancing a giant chocolate chocolate chip muffin in her left hand and a cup of coffee in her right and hoping the straps of her bag didn't slip off her shoulder and make her spill everything. There were square metal tables to sit in, and they all seemed to be occupied by all the Polar Plungers, now dry and warm. Michonne stopped and looked around for an empty seat, but seemed to come up empty, not a single available chair.

"I know a great spot over there if you're interested." She looked over at the man that helped her jump in the pool earlier. He was dressed now, in dark jeans and a light blue pull over sweater that zipped at the collar. He left it unzipped so she could see the white tee shirt that he wore underneath. She hadn't noticed his face before, but his handsomeness was on full display now.

"I am." He smiled and motioned with his head for her to follow him over to the large window where a couple of cushioned chairs and a table in between were set up. She hoped she didn't appear too fazed by his chiseled jawline that was covered with a few days worth of graying stubble, or his eyes that could put the shade of the pool water to shame. "Did I look lost?" She asked him, averting her eyes to a spot over his shoulder so she could focus.

"Nah, just a little put out, like you really want to eat that muffin and couldn't wait to find a seat so you can." Michonne smiled and nodded her head at his accurate observation.

"Have you had one?

"I had a banana nut one," he laughed when she scrunched her nose at his choice of muffin.  
"It was pretty good." They got to the chairs and he took her coffee from her so she could put her bag down.

"Thanks. I'm usually pretty good with walking with my hands full. Balancing everything and only making one trip from the house to the car."

"Yeah, I understand," He set her coffee on the table and she dropped her bag on the floor. He stayed standing, waiting for her to sit before he did. "Two trips are for suckers," She put her muffin on the table and sat down. He bent his knees to sit and was halfway down when Michonne stood back up, causing him to stand also.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where my manners are. I'm Michonne."

"Oh that's alright. I was gonna introduce myself after we sat down. I'm Rick." They shook hands and immediately forgot how many pumps of their hands was acceptable. She thought three and he wrestled between four and five, making the shake awkward for the both of them.

"Nice to meet you... even though this is the second time," she said quietly.

"Yeah, I guess it is." They finally sat down and Michonne took a sip of her coffee, sighing as it warmed her body. "Good coffee?" Rick asked her.

"Yes. Did you get some?"

"Judith wanted hot chocolate, and insisted that I get some too. She even loaded it up with marshmallows and a little peppermint."

"That's so sweet. Judith is your daughter, right?"

"Yeah. I guess she forgot to introduce herself too."

"Judith is my hero today. I couldn't have done it without her."

"She'll be happy to hear that." Michonne broke off a piece of her muffin with her hand and bit off a piece, closing her eyes at all the chocolatey goodness that filled her mouth.

"Sorry, I love chocolate. This is so good. It's also so bad, but I'm rewarding my bravery with this oversized muffin, that should probably be eaten by at least three people."

"Nothing wrong with indulging in your favorite things. You earned it," he watched her take another bite of her muffin, she made the whole process into an visually exciting experience. "What made you do it anyways, take the plunge?"

"My older, thinks she's wiser sister talked me into it."

"Did she do it too?"

"No. She doesn't even live here," Michonne took a small sip of her coffee before continuing. "She thought it would be good for me and the boys since we just moved here. Something about starting fresh and the cold water helping me usher in the new me. Who knows," She shrugged her shoulders. "She's older, so I listened and here I am."

"Do you think it worked?" Rick asked, genuinely curious.

"Too soon to tell, I guess. Let's see how I feel after my first day at work."

"Where are you working, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not at all. I'm the new middle school art teacher."

"Oh congratulations."

"Thank you. I thought long and hard about taking the position. Actually for about three days. It was a 1500 mile move and I'd have to pass the state exam to be certified here, but I did and then I found the cutest little white house with a hot pink front door. The boys hate it, but I couldn't pass it up."

"Oh you bought the Gilbert's old house."

"You know them? He was so nice during the whole process. Even when we moved in last week, he was there handing over the keys. They moved to Florida to be with their grandkids."

" Yeah, I know. I live across the street."

"No way. Really?"

"Yeah. I wondered who moved in there. We were out of town last week and I saw a car yesterday when we got back, but didn't have time to come by. Welcome to the neighborhood."

"Thanks. You're not the deputy that Mrs. Varner talked about are you?"

"That would be me."

"Oh wow. The boys were so excited when they heard that a deputy lived across the street. They're gonna have a lot of questions and most of them will be about your gun."

"That's alright. I'm used to it. They can ask me anything. Are they at the elementary school?"

"Yes, it's so strange living in a small town, you can just say elementary school and I know what you're talking about because there's only one. Carl and Andre are in the third grade."

"They're twins," Rick scratched the hair along his jawline. "Of course they are." Although Rick didn't get a very good look at them, he did notice the way they seemed to move the same, both hitting the water at the exact time and swimming away leading with their right arm in the same way. "That must get hectic at times. I find myself shaking my head at Judith everyday. I know nothing about nail polish or ruffles and that's all she talks about now. You saw her swimsuit. It sparkles. That's way outta my comfort zone."

"Oh, you seem to do just fine. Her mother picks up the slack I'm sure." Rick's smile dropped and he looked at the floor, his whole demeanor changing. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean...I uh.."

"No, it's alright," he looked back up at her. "You had no way of knowing, Her mother died in childbirth and it's just been us since then. Except when we go visit my folks in Virginia, like last week."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She placed her hand on top of his and gave him a quick squeeze. "With what I know of Judith from this morning, you're doing a great job of being a dad. It's not easy being a single parent, but we gotta do what we gotta do. As long as they're happy and healthy, that's all that matters."

"Yes it is. So I guess you can draw pretty good, huh?" He changed the subject to lighten the mood.

"I try. Really it was the only thing that I was good at in school and I had no choice but to go to college, Fine Arts was it."

"Art was never my strong suit. I'm pretty sure everything I brought home from art class was quickly tossed in the trash by my mother."

"I doubt that. I'm sure she kept everything."

"She didn't. And it's probably a good thing that there's no evidence of my awful artistic endeavors."

"You probably just didn't have the right teacher."

"Maybe so." Rick stared into her eyes for a beat and then down at the table between them.

"Do you know a lot of people around town? I know that's a weird question, but I'm sure you meet your fair share."

"I know just about everyone. The perks of growing up here."

"I met Faye in the locker room earlier and she said she heard about me from Billy. I have no idea who that is."

"Well, Billy and Faye are the two most nosy people in King County. I'm sure half the town knows what color socks you have on today." Michonne laughed and filed the information away.

"That bad, huh?"

"Even worse. The pride themselves on being in the know, but it's usually about the wrong things."

"Daddy I'm hungry. Can we go get chicken fingers from Carol's Place?" Judith ran up and asked Rick.

"I don't see why not. But first I want you to meet someone."

"Daddy, I already know her. She jumped with us this morning."

"Yes, she did, but you don't know her name and you didn't tell her yours either." She stood in front of Rick and extended her hand.

"Hello, I'm Judith. Judith Grimes."

"It's so nice to meet you Judith. My name is Michonne. I wanted to say thank you for holding my hand this morning. You saw how nervous I was and you helped me out big time."

"You're welcome." The three of them looked in the direction of the two pairs of feet that were running towards them.

"Mom, we're hungry. Can we go now?"

"Excuse me, is that how you act now?"

"Sorry mom," Carl said. "Excuse us, but can we go now. My stomach is grumbling."

"Mine too." Andre said rubbing his belly.

"Boys, introduce yourselves to Mr. Grimes. He's the deputy that lives across the street from us."

"Cool! Do you have a gun with you?" Carl asked excitedly.

"Do you arrest a lot of people?" Andre asked. Judith looked on with a big smile on her face, used to it all.

"You ever been in one of those chases they show on tv." Carl asked.

"Boys," Michonne looked at Rick and smiled. "I'm sorry, Rick."

"No problem. You did say they'd have a lot of questions." Rick looked at Carl and Andre, then asked. "How bout this… if it's alright with your mom, what do you say we go grab some lunch and I'll answer all your questions."

"Can we mom?" Andre pleaded.

"Please," Carl begged.

"Well, I could go for some chicken fingers." She looked at Judith and winked.

"Alright then." Rick said, standing up. "Let's go get some lunch."


	2. Chapter 2

"So, it's been a month, what's the verdict, I was right, wasn't I?"

"I think I made a really good choice moving here. The boys are making new friends and keeping me busy, the job's fun...most of the time," Michonne laughed at the sound her sister made on the other end of the phone, since she didn't give her credit for their move. They had been talking for nearly two hours, Sasha was catching up her little sister on what she had been missing since she'd moved. Although it was February and colder than she was used to, the temperature, in the 50's, was mild enough for her sit out on her porch and gossip like old times. The fleece blanket, portable heater that Sasha had sent as a housewarming gift and the spiked hot cocoa, helped too.

"You made the choice? More like I kicked you out and pointed your ass in the direction of King County."

"Whatever." Michonne took a sip of her hot chocolate before pouring more from the thermos that sat on the table beside her.

"Met any interesting people?" Sasha asked hopeful. "Beside the people you work with. Please tell me you've ventured out more than you did here."

"Who has time for all that?" Michonne blew out a breath preparing for the lecture that was about to happen. "I spend all day with 12 and 14 year olds who barely know what hormones are, let alone how to deal with them. Carl and Andre have homework like you wouldn't believe and neither of them want me to tell them how I was taught to do math. Do you know what third grade math looks like these days, Sasha? Then they only want to tell me how Ms. Gilroy teaches them, because apparently that's the only way to figure it out. Sash, I swear my head hurts after homework with them, I don't have time for anything else." Michonne heard shuffling and keyboard tapping through the phone. "What's that noise?"

"I'm about to start a profile for you on some dating site. Do you have a preference? It doesn't matter, I'll surprise you." There was more tapping and then it stopped. "I'll use that picture from Halloween when you were a sexy cat."

"I was just a cat and I will drive the 21 hours it takes to get to your house and fight you if you do Sasha, I swear I will. You know I'm not ready."

"You've been saying that for forever Michonne. It's been like five years since you last had sex. It's time to dust it off."

"How do you know it's been five years?"

"Because I know all your tales of a good lay, even a bad one, and I haven't seen it for that long."

"Whatever," Michonne said quietly. She'd never been good at keeping the sated smile off her face the morning after.

"You get a certain glow to your face and a guilty look, like you think everyone can tell how nasty you just got." Sasha laughed loudly knowing Michonne was blushing and fuming at the same time. Michonne held the phone from her ear, to lessen the volume and rolled her eyes wishing her sister could see her doing it.

"Oh my god Sasha, really?"

"I'm not judging, sis. I love when you have that look. It means that you've been taken care of," Sasha took a deep breath then blew it out slowly. "But your husband died five years ago and you haven't let anyone up in there since. I want that look back."

"Why are you so vulgar?" Michonne looked to her left and right to see if anyone on the dark deserted street had heard what Sasha said.

"Cause I'm grown, and you know exactly what I'm talking about. Shit, Michonne, I'mma send you some videos, just in case you forgot how to do things. I don't think it's like riding a bike like they say...unless your bike has a penis and you move up and down on it." Sasha's laughter crescendoed through the phone, growing louder the longer Michonne stayed silent, stunned by what her sister had just said. It was a full eight minutes before the laughing stopped. "Come on, you know that was funny."

"I'm hanging up now." Michonne said annoyed.

"No, don't hang up, I'm kidding Michonne…. mostly."

"If you weren't my sister…"

"What?" Sasha chuckled quickly and then exhaled. "You'd still be my best friend and we'd talk all the time. I'd still tell you the same shit, Michonne. You know I love you... I just want you to be happy and meet someone who makes you happy. It's way past time for you to get back out there. And don't give me that bullshit about the boys needing you and taking up all of your time; that excuse doesn't fly anymore." Michonne's mind understood what was being said to her, but her heart hadn't made the connection yet. How do you start to give your heart to someone when the million pieces it was broken into, is still being held together by pieces of tape and rubber bands that seem to pop off and break every time thoughts of her husband came to her mind?

"Hey neighbor," a voice came from the darkness. Michonne smiled when the face came into view.

"Hello Deputy Rick." Michonne responded, happy to see him, forgetting she still had the phone to her ear.

"Who is that?" Sasha asked of the deep male voice that she heard.

"No one for you to worry about. I'll talk to you later alright."

"Don't you dare hang up on me." Sasha hurriedly said.

"Bye Sash," Michonne hung up and immediately turned off her phone knowing Sasha would be calling back and then texting when she didn't answer.

"I'm not interrupting am I?" Rick walked closer and placed a booted foot on the bottom step.

"No, it was just my sister checking up on me."

"Hope you gave her a good report." He leaned against the railing and gave Michonne a hopeful smile.

"I did, but she won't be satisfied until…," she didn't think it would be appropriate to tell him about the bike reference. "It doesn't matter. What brings you by?"

"I saw you sitting out here when I pulled up, figured I'd come say hi. See how you been doing since the last time I saw you... you and the boys."

"We're all doing good. Thanks for asking"

"Settling in alright?"

"As well as can be expected," she motioned with her hand to the chair beside her. "You wanna have a seat?"

"Sure," Rick took the two more steps quietly, unsure if Andre and Carl were asleep or not. "You know February isn't really a porch sitting kinda month around these parts." He sat down with a sigh, happy to be able to relax for a while, noticing her purple paisley fleece throw that she had wrapped around her.

"It's not too cold, plus…" Michonne motioned with her foot to the portable heater that was sitting in front of her. "I've got somethings to help with the cold."

"Nice."

"My sister sent it to me as a housewarming gift. She's extremely jealous that I have a front porch that's big enough for a few rocking chairs."

"A lot better than what I got when we moved in; a lawn mower. It was useful, but I would have preferred a big grill or a coffee maker. You know as well as I do, that raising babies by yourself is exhausting. There was a couple weeks that Judith only slept when the sun was out. I was so sleep deprived, I almost took her to Dr. Greene to find out if she was part owl."

"You did not," Michonne laughed hard and then covered her mouth to quiet herself. She met Dr. Greene last week when he came by to see his daughter Maggie, the nurse at the elementary school.

"I was real close. That coffee maker would have come in handy back then."

"So you don't like mowing?"

"I think of it as something that I have to do, not something that I enjoy. The process sucks, but the results are worth it, I guess. You like mowing?"

"I've never had a yard before, so I've never done it." Rick quirked his eyebrows in surprise and looked out at her large front lawn and guessed the backyard was even bigger. "I'm excited for spring though. Planting flowers and adding lots of color, learning how to work a lawn mower,after I buy one."

"I can show you how. It's really all in the legs, the pushing… of the lawn mower." Rick shook his head discreetly as images of Michonne's legs in her swimsuit popped into his mind. He hoped changing the subject would keep them at bay, at least for now. "That little thing sure does give off quite a bit of heat," he rubbed his hands together and held his palms near the heater. "The boys asleep?"

"Yes, finally. Seems like I had to wrestle them into bed tonight. Light's finally went out at ten."

"They excited about something?"

"Both of them got 100's on their spelling tests, and I promised comic books for their hard work. I should say our hard work. We practiced all week before bed and on the way to school every morning. I think I had a dream about a spelling bee last night," Rick laughed, understanding the process. "The comic book store was our first stop after school today."

Well let em know I'm proud of them...all three of you."

"They'll be happy to hear that." His genuine smile showed that he was being absolutely honest and it warmed Michonne's heart. "Um... I didn't think they would ever decide on one," she continued. "It's such a long process with those two. We were in that store for what seemed like hours."

"Let me guess, they each have to agree on what the other one gets, so they can trade when they're done."

"Is it a boy thing? Is Judith like that?"

"Her being an only child, I can only speak for myself," he placed a hand to his chest. "When I say that she usually just tells me what to get, with no intention of sharing." He watched her laugh and shake her head at his expense.

"Smart girl. Where is she tonight?"

"Sleepover," he brought his right foot up to rest on his left knee and brushed some dirt off of the side of his boot. "I've had a crazy schedule this week so she's been shuffled around a bit more than I'd like her to be, but this sleepover has been in the works for a few weeks. It's all she talked about this morning. She was so excited to take her sleeping bag."

"Tell her she's welcome over whenever she'd like."

"She'll be happy to hear that. She enjoys seeing you at school when you drop by. She always mentions it."

"Seems like I'm always there to see Miss Stevens. Lesson plans, supply swaps. If you ever need me to pick her up after school when I get the boys, it's no problem."

"I might have to take you up on that."

"So, how's the county? Everything quiet in these parts?"

"Quiet enough, nothing to worry about."

"I'm sure if there was, I would have heard about it by now. Apparently this town doesn't believe in secrets." The teachers lounge was just one of the places where she could catch up on everyone's business.

"No, it doesn't. Hope that doesn't run you off."

"Oh not at all. Besides my sister would just drop me back off if I did." She wrapped her blanket tighter around her shoulders. She wasn't cold, just wanted to be a little warmer. "You ever think people see your life totally different than it actually is?"

"All the time."

"She thinks I'm not living my life to the fullest... or something like that," she looked down at the wide wooden planks beneath her feet and continued. "My husband died when the boys were just two and I haven't been brave enough to put myself back out there. She's got a big problem with that."

"Is it too much to ask how he died? You don't have to answer if it is." He had wondered since she mentioned she was a single mom last month, but wasn't sure how to broach the subject.

"It's...it's okay, car accident. It was one of those mornings where you linger in bed a little too long trying to hold onto the last few moments of a good sleep. He was rushing to get to work and so was the another guy. They collided on the freeway. He fought for as long as he could at the hospital, but his injuries were too much, then the machines took over. Taking him off, was the hardest decision I've ever had to make. Sasha was there for me the entire time. She's seen me at my lowest and even lower than that, so I understand where she's coming from. Her problem is with my slow restart...I guess you can call it that."

"Is it a problem for you? Do you feel like anything is missing from your life?"

"I'm sure if I let myself sit and think about it for long enough, I would agree with her, but I've got my boys to think about. Dating and the... things that come with it," she whispered. "Just haven't been on the forefront for me." She bit her bottom lip and scrunched up her nose. "I can't believe I just told you that."

"That's alright. I hear...the things that come with it, are an important part of dating."

"You heard that huh?" She could see him start to blush. "You want a drink or something? I've got some hot chocolate here. It's got alcohol in it."

"How can I pass up alcohol?" Rick turned towards her, hoping his face had returned to normal coloring. "Hopefully it'll help me relax after the week I've had."

"I won't let you make it a habit."

"What, having shitty weeks?"

"Drinking your stress away. You should try boxing or something, exercise is good for that." Michonne handed handed him the thermos lid full of hot chocolate and he took a sip, smiling his approval.

"And mess up this pretty face?" His hand touched his cheek and he winked. "Nah, I like the range."

"The shooting range?" Michonne shook her head.

"Yeah, ever tried it?"

"No. I've never had a reason to. I've never even touched a gun."

"It's not as scary as it seems. You should know how to protect yourself," he took another sip of his drink. "I don't mind teaching you, if you want to learn. I'm sure you have stress too."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time some 14 year old calls me anything other than Ms. Bowers, or all my pencils turn up missing. I'm convinced they eat them."

"Got a few troublemakers in your classes?"

"A few, but the mother in me doesn't know whether or not to give them a much needed hug or send them to the office."

"Sounds like the life of a Deputy Sheriff sometimes. The line is very thin most days." He raised his glass to her. "This is good."

"It's an old family recipe," Michonne tried to hide her smile.

"No it's not." Rick countered.

"Am I that bad of a liar?"

"I don't know about all that, but I do know Baileys when I taste it. Plus I get paid to be able to know what the truth is."

"Busted," she laughed. "Hot chocolate and a little Irish cream. Helps cut the chill in the air."

"By the size of that thermos, I'd say it'll help you sleep good tonight too."

"Let's hope it helps me sleep in tomorrow morning. I swear Monday thru Friday, I have to pry the boys out of bed, but come Saturday and Sunday they're up before the sun. I have to get up or the kitchen will end up looking like a war zone. _"We just wanted to make you breakfast mom."_ She imitated Carl and Andre, having heard those words countless time.

"I hate to admit that that's how our kitchen looks on our Sunday Spaghetti Nights."

"You have a whole night for spaghetti?"

"We do.," he nodded his head yes. "With all the shuffling around she does because of my schedule, I just want Judith to have one night where she knows what to expect. We make homemade sauce and slather bread with too much garlic butter."

"That sounds nice."

"As long as we've been doing it, I still haven't figured out the precise amount of noodles for two people, so I end up eating spaghetti three times a week for lunch." Michonne offered up more of the hot chocolate from the thermos and Rick happily accepted and took a few sips. "How bout you and the boys come by this Sunday."

"For spaghetti night?"

"Yeah. We'd love the company. Judith has Valentine's cupcakes planned this week. If you don't mind pink and red frosting, we'll need help eating all of them." Michonne thought for a while as she sipped and pretended Rick wasn't staring at her, waiting for an answer.

"I think we'd like that. We'll raid the game shelf and bring something to play." Rick nodded his head, pleased that she had accepted his invitation. The porch went quiet, both of them looking over the neighborhood, listening to the faint rustling of the wind through the evergreen trees that were scattered along the street. Rick was the first to speak again, picking the conversation back up with questions about her art and hobbies. They went back and forth, learning about each other and opening up little by little, something neither of them had done for a very long time, but seemed quite easy sitting out on her porch in the late hours of the night. When there was another lull in the talking, Rick checked his watch and saw that it was just after two in the morning.

"Well, now that I'm good and slightly buzzed, I think I'll be getting home."

"I didn't mean to get you drunk," Rick placed the thermos lid on the table and stood up.

"Slightly buzzed," he corrected. "Takes a little more than that lightweight drink to get me drunk." He started walking down the steps and turned around when he was at the bottom.

"I'll keep that in mind for next time," Michonne stood and walked to the edge of the porch. "I'll just watch and make sure you get home alright."

"You do that," his slight buzz was making him flirt a little bit.

"Oh my god Rick, that's not what I meant." She put her hand to her forehead and tried to rub the embarrassment away, but her smile betrayed her.

"Good night Michonne. I'll see y'all Sunday around 5:30." He turned around and walked towards his house, his boots clicking along the pavement with every step. She watched and studied his bow legged gait, no wobbles or miss steps, steady as can be. Rick got to his front door and opened it, waved, then waited until Michonne was inside to shut his door.

"See ya then," she whispered to herself as she locked the door behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay, I've spread us out a bit this time." Rick handed aprons to Michonne and the kids as he pointed out the new way Spaghetti Sunday was going to go this time.

"Yeah, last week we were bumping elbows…" Carl said.

"And butts," Andre finished.

"Boys." Michonne warned, tying the strings of Judith's apron behind her back. They had matching pink ones, and all the guys wore grey.

"Chopping station is over here," Rick continued. "Seasonings are over here. We've got a meat station today, run by the grownups, beef and Italian sausage." He saw the smiles on the kids faces glad that meat was added this time, since the vegan spaghetti from last week wasn't a favorite.

"Fancy." Michonne was impressed with the thought that went into tonight's meal prep. With three Sundays under their belts, the neighbors were fastly becoming contenders for The Food Network.

"What about the bread?" Carl asked, looking around the room for the warm loaf he was used to seeing.

"Got that too." Rick motioned to the oven where the bread was warming. "You want to be in charge of the garlic butter?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, let's get started." Rick said, rubbing his hands together as the kids all went to their designated station; the one they'd been thinking about all day. Carl got started with making the garlic butter, unwrapping sticks of unsalted butter and measuring out garlic cloves to chop along with onion powder since he hated cutting raw onions. Michonne looked on as all three kids put their chef's faces on, focusing on the task at hand. Andre and Judith stood side by side and chopped tomatoes and garlic, sliding the onions in Michonne's direction to cut for them.

"Andre doesn't want to cry." Carl teased.

"I wasn't crying last time." He used his sleeve to wipe some imaginary sweat from his forehead, something he'd seen chefs do on tv, and figured he should too. "Something got in my eye." Andre made sure to look Carl in the eyes so he could see that he was being serious. Michonne took her place between Andre and Judith, quickly chopping the first onion while they looked on in awe that not even a single tear was shed or eye watered. "You're good at that Mom."

"That was fast." Judith said impressed.

"I've had lots of practice. Believe it or not, when I was pregnant with these two, I craved onions for an entire month. I ate them everyday. All different kinds, all different ways. I'm surprised Carl and Andre don't peel back in layers." Michonne winked at Judith who wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Ewe, that would be gross." Carl said from his garlic butter station.

"And stinky." Judith added, waving her hand in front of her face. Michonne chopped the second one just as fast and added it to the large ceramic bowl that was on the counter. She wiped her hands off on her apron and handed the knife back to Andre.

"It's all yours buddy." Michonne walked over to her station where Rick was waiting, holding out a wooden spatula to her.

"You do the beef and I'll get the sausage. We'll mix em together when we're done."

"Sounds good to me." Michonne said to him, with a smile. "I like mine chunky. You okay with that?"

"I won't count it against you." He started crumbling the meat in his pan. "So, onions,huh? I bet you were a pleasure to have a conversation with." Rick laughed and hoped she knew he was only joking.

"I bought mints by the case that month. I was so bad, like ravenous. That was the worst of my cravings during my whole pregnancy. I even learned how to make onion rings that month."

"That does sound bad. I bet your windows stayed open for thirty days straight."

"I was stocked in candles too, and those onion rings will be the best you'll ever taste." She was pointing the spatula at him to help get her point across. Rick looked to the boys for some help, but both of them knew better than get involved where they didn't stand a chance.

"You're gonna have to prove that one." He challenged her.

"That won't be a problem, just let me know when and where." Rick licked his bottom lip and tried to reign in the smile that her competitive side had put on his face. He didn't need her knowing how much it affected him.

"Mom, is this enough tomatoes?" Andre asked, pointing to the ceramic bowl on the counter. Judith looked at Michonne, waiting for her answer, wiping her juicy hands off on the front of her pink apron.

"That looks like more than enough." She turned to Rick and handed him her spatula, so she could go to the kids. "I think you two are ready to puree it all."

"Yep, looks that way to me too." Rick said stirring the two different pots with both hands. " Y'all remember what to do?"

"Keep the lid on." Carl, Judith and Andre all said in unison, remembering when that little step was forgotten a few weeks ago and they were all covered in chunky, half blended sauce.

"What are we playing this time?" Carl asked, kneeling to take his spot at the coffee table

"Uno!" Judith shouted, sitting next to him.

"No." Michonne said firmly. "The last time we played, there were actual tears shed." She kept her eyes from the person she was referring to and didn't mention a name, but it still made her laugh. The draw four card was was not made for the faint at heart, and that night proved it. Luckily Rick's nice coffee table wasn't flipped over in protest.

"How about something that doesn't make us so... emotional." Rick said as a tinge of embarrassment crept up his face. They had pureed the tomatoes and onions and added everything to the huge metal pot on the stove. The kids took turns holding their faces over the pot to breathe in the homemade sauce and Rick held the spoon to Michonne's mouth for her to taste. After adding a couple teaspoons of a couple more spices, she put the lid on with a thumbs up and they left the kitchen to let it do it's thing.

While the sauce simmered and the bread warmed, they played a few intense rounds of Old Maid that tested everyone's poker face, but didn't end in any shed tears. There was even a bout of giggles that started with Michonne who was staring at the Old Maid in her hand and swore it looked like her fourth grade teacher Mrs. Reynolds. Once she started they all looked at her, but she couldn't tell them that she had the Old Maid, so she started laughing harder and Judith joined her, then Andre and Rick. As hard as he fought it, Carl starting laughing too and the game was paused for a good ten minutes so they all could settle down.

An hour later, Rick had the kids set the table and Michonne placed wine glasses at each place setting. Something that Rick knew nothing about until Michonne brought them last week. She put coordinating chargers underneath his plain white plates and cloth napkins with rings to the left of them and they all sat atop pretty gold quilted placemats. She poured merlot into a glass for her and put a bottle of beer by Rick's plate. The kids got sparkling water, the kind with a fruity flavor to make it easier to drink when flat water wasn't your favorite. It had all become such a fancy ordeal, and Michonne grew to love doing it each week. The Sunday routine had become something that she looked forward to Monday through Friday and prepared for on Saturday.

As she carried the bowl of salad in one hand and a bottle of dressing in the other, she was proud of the way everyone had pitched in to make the dinner so special. Carl carefully took the basket of bread and put it in the middle of the table. Rick set the spaghetti sauce next to it, and Andre was in charge of the noodles. Since the first Spaghetti Sunday, three weeks ago, Rick made it a point to model certain behaviors for the kids. He knew it was working when tonight the boys pulled out Judith's chair for her, just like he did for Michonne.

"Thank you." Michonne said as she sat down.

"Anytime," Rick responded with a grin. Blame it on the lingering look between the two, but it had the kids giggling uncontrollably again. "Alright, you three, let's eat."

The food was passed around and plated. Judith followed Michonne and placed her napkin in her lap right before she started to eat. Rick smiled at her, but didn't call attention to it, he was impressed with her observation. Sauce dripped onto the tablecloth and noodles slipped off forks, but no one fussed about it, too enthralled with their meal to notice. After several big mouthfuls and a some sips of her wine, Michonne broke up the silence of the table.

"Okay, who's ready to go back to school tomorrow?"

"Not me!" Andre answered, with a mouth full of food.

"Me!" Carl said.

"Me too." Judith added.

"Well, looks like we have no choice, since it's the last day of Spring Break." Michonne said, not believing that the week went by so quickly.

"Boo." Andre mocked.

"What, you don't think your break was good?" Michonne asked, looking over at Rick. "You all should be tired with everything we did."

"From bowling?" Carl asked, unbelieving that three rounds of bowling could make someone tired.

"And miniature golf," Michonne said. "And laser tag."

"That awful movie." Rick said quietly. A matinee featuring talking animals that lived as princesses and princes, wasn't his idea of a good time, but since it was Spring Break and he'd taken the week off, the objective was to keep them all busy the entire week.

"It wasn't awful." Judith told him.

"And the park, three days in a row." Michonne held up three fingers for emphasis. She didn't mind the park, she and Rick sat and talked on the bench while the kids played. He even talked her into getting on the swings, pushing her until her feet were high in the air.

"Can we go do laser tag again?" Andre asked both Rick and Michonne.

"Yeah, but first, your mom needs to work on her aim." All the kids laughed remembering all the missed shots Michonne had, blaming it on them moving instead of her inaccuracy.

"Hey, I wasn't that bad."

"You weren't that good either mom. Next time you're on Carl's team."

"No way. I want to win." Carl exclaimed.

"See what you started?" Michonne looked at Rick. She couldn't believe that she was being passed around and no one wanted her on their team.

"Okay, okay." Rick tried to defuse the situation. "Your mom just needs a little practice. How bout this, I'll help her with her aim and when we get back out there, it'll be us versus you three." He pointed to Carl, Judith and Andre. "Loser does the dishes after dinner for a month."

"A whole month?" Carl whined.

"That's not fair." Judith folded her arms over her chest.

"It's not fair, only if you think you'll lose." Rick told them.

"I'm not losing to them." Andre told Carl and Judith.

"Me either." Judith and Carl said together, gaining confidence from Andre's certainty.

"So it's settled then. Parents against kids the next time we do laser tag."

Deal." Andre said after getting the okay from both Carl and Judith.

Not long after the last noodle of spaghetti was slurped up, Rick and the kids helped clear the table while Michonne got dessert ready. The weather was mild and the sun was just starting to set, so they went out into the backyard to eat the chocolate cake that Michonne and Judith had made on Saturday. The kids somehow found room in their bellies for the cake and the scoop of vanilla ice cream that she put with it, sitting on a red picnic table that Rick built for Judith a few years ago. Michonne and he stood on the back porch and watched them eat and laugh.

"I think they had a pretty good break?" Rick said after taking the first bite of the chocolate cake. He had to stop himself from shoveling it all into his mouth with the way it melted in his mouth.

"I think so too. I don't think we missed anything in terms of fun this week." Michonne spooned a large amount of ice cream in her mouth, hoping it might keep her from rambling.

"What about you?" Rick turned to her. "Did you have a good break?" She nodded her head as an answer so she could finish swallowing the mouthful of ice cream that she had.

"I did. It was great having a partner in crime against these three." She gave him an awkward shoulder bump, and tried not to think of the eye roll Sasha would be giving her right now. "Um… you're going back to work too tomorrow aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. I have to remember to set my alarm."

"You need a wake up call." She asked him halfway joking.

"If you're offering." He licked the back of his spoon where a mix of chocolate frosting and vanilla ice cream had settled.

"I'll give you a call in the morning then."

"You've got a little…," Rick pointed to her face and the drop of ice cream that was sitting at the corner of her mouth. She went to lick it off at the same time that he went to wipe it off and she ended up licking half of his thumb.

"Sorry." She turned her head and looked down at her shoes in embarrassment.

"It's all right." Rick licked off the small amount of ice cream that he got on his thumb from off of her mouth. "I was just trying to help you out a little bit."

"Yeah, but you weren't expecting me to taste you in the process."

"Well…"

"Oh my god." Michonne put her hand to her forehead, not believing that she just said that to him. "That came out totally wrong. You know what I meant, right?"

"I know exactly what you meant." Rick smiled at her, captivated by her bashfulness.

"I think it's time to do the dishes now." She took the bowl from his hand, not bothering to check if he was finished or not and hurried into the kitchen to fill the sink with water. She turned the cold water on first to splash her face with, in hopes of erasing away the embarrassment that she knew was all over it.

"That was the best cake ever mom." Carl said coming in ten minutes later, followed by Judith, Andre and Rick.

"Yes it was." Judith rubbed her tummy. "My belly is full."

"That's good." Michonne said putting the dishes in the sink. "That means you'll sleep good tonight."

"Let's hope." Rick handed dish towels to all the kids. "Alright y'all know what time it is now."

"Dishes." They all grumbled.

"Okay, it looks like you're all set for lunches this week." Michonne looked at the leftovers in Rick's fridge. Even with her taking some home, he and Judith still had plenty left for the week. "If you run out of cake, just let me know. I'll be happy to make you another one. I mean, I'm sure Judith wouldn't mind helping me make another one." She looked at Judith knowing she's be game to be a mini baker again.

"Can I Daddy?"

"I don't mind at all." Michonne told Rick before turning to Judith. "I'm sure your Daddy wouldn't mind something sweet later on in the week. How about I pick her up from school Friday and we can make it then?"

"Sweets are always good." Rick told her with a wink.

"You can stay for dinner when you pick her up."

"How can I say no to that?" Rick took the bag of leftovers that she was carrying and started to walk them to the door.

"Can we walk them home Daddy?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Rick answered, glad that his daughter liked the boys enough to want to hang out a little bit longer. He opened the door and with the street clear, Michonne handed her keys to Carl and the kids raced across the street and rushed into the house before Rick and Michonne were even out of his driveway.

"This was a nice dinner. I think we're almost ready to open a spaghetti bistro." Michonne teased.

"Let's give it a few more weeks at least." They had made it to Michonne's yard and Rick placed a gentle guiding hand on the small of her back right before she stepped over the curb into her yard.

"At least." Michonne whispered, surprised by at how his hand felt on her back. "I'll think of a name for it in the meantime." They walked to her front door and Michonne turned around to look at him before opening the door. "Well…"

"Thanks for coming by tonight."

"You say that every Sunday Rick. You don't have to thank me. We really do enjoy it." They both paused as their gazes met. Michonne wasn't sure what to do next, but it seemed as though Rick did. He took a tentative half step towards Michonne, his eyes now focused on her lips that she absentmindedly licked as a slow breeze hit her face. She saw his head lean in and her eyes widened in surprise at what he was about to do. She held her breath in anticipation, not expecting the door to swing open.

"Daddy look what Andre gave me." Judith held a colorful book up to his face as he straightened up. "It's a comic book with a girl pirate!"

"It sure is. It's one of my favorites." Michonne took the book and flipped through the pages with Judith. "You're gonna love it."

"Can we go home now?" Judith asked Rick, suddenly in a rush to leave.

"I guess she wants to read that now, huh?" Rick said to Michonne.

"Looks like it." Michonne looked to Judith, but could feel Rick's eyes on her. "I'll want to hear about your favorite part on Friday okay."

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night sweetie." She turned to Rick and gave him a shy smile. "Good night Rick."

"Good night Michonne. I'll talk to you in the morning."

"One wake up call coming up."


	4. Chapter 4

"What!"

"Why you gotta be so loud Sasha?" MIchonne exhaled and looked around the room. The house was empty, but her sister's voice being on speaker reverberated through the walls.

"Because your ass just said that he _almos_ t kissed you. Almost?... What happened?" Sasha kept pausing after each sentence giving Michonne the impression that she was going to let her answer, but every time she opened her mouth to respond, Sasha asked another question. "You didn't turn away did you?...Was it onion breath?"

"Are you gonna let me answer?"

"Go ahead. I'm listening."

"For one, I don't have onion breath. And we were... interrupted...by Judith."

"Whoa. Baby girl for the block." Sasha chuckled in that way she has that's more contrite and less amused.

"She was just excited to show him her new comic book." Michonne shook her head slightly at the memory from a few weeks ago that had Rick zeroing in on her lips as he leaned into her on her front porch.

"So y'all kissed the next day, right?"

"No."

"Next night?"

"We haven't kissed at all... ever, okay. It's never the right time."

"If you wait for the right time, it'll never happen." Michonne imaged her sister staring at the ceiling a hand in the air saying a silent prayer to the heavens for her to get her shit together. "He didn't even try when he was teaching you how to shoot that night? I know he was all up on you making sure your form was right."

"No, not even then." The shooting range from a couple weeks ago, was fun. More fun than she expected actually. Rick was a great teacher, making sure she was comfortable holding her firearm before she even stepped up to aim. With his gentle hands guiding hers to the right spot, elbows in and fingers relaxed, she pulled the trigger and watched as the rapidly moving bullet sailed through the air and tore through the paper target. It was scary and exhilarating and by the end of the night she was hooked and they'd made another "date" for a few weeks from now. "I was trying to learn to shoot, not be distracted by him kissing me."

"You would've been kissing him back. I'm so disappointed right now."

"Stop being so dramatic. It's only been like a month."

"He's got pretty lips don't he? I know you've looked." Sasha laughed again. Lately it was either laugh or sigh out her frustrations when it came to Michonne. "You're a bit of a prude now, but you're not dead. Are they pretty?"

"They're….nice." Michonne had looked. Whenever Rick talked, she paid extra close attention to what he was saying, watching his mouth move as it opened and closed with each word and sound. It was like she couldn't help it, they were perfectly framed by that greying beard that made him look so distinguished and sexy.

"You're thinking about them right now aren't you?" Sasha asked, interrupting Michonne's memory of the last thing Rick said to her a few hours ago. She still hadn't figured out how her sister knew her so well.

"Shut up."

"So where is everyone?" Sasha asked, giving Michonne a break for a bit. "It's too quiet to be 11 in the morning there. Are the boys already playing that Xbox?"

"No." Michonne walked out of the kitchen and to the front window, moving the curtain back to see her driveway. "Rick took the kids with him to get lawn bags and gas for the lawn mower. Can you believe I own a mower?" Michonne was so excited for the warm spring day, and her first mow of the season.

"The kids?" Sasha's voice had gone up an octave with the question. "Do you hear yourself? _Rick took the kids._ Oh I see how it is now."

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't even separate them." Michonne looked to her right and found a spot on the wall that she hoped would help her understand what the hell her sister was talking about. "The kids are _the kids_."

"What else am I supposed to say. Rick took the kids…"

"See there." Sasha cut her off. "The kids. Y'all are just one big happy family."

"Sasha... Really?"

"Yes really." Michonne could see Sasha's neck roll in her mind. "It's kind of cute though."

"You're kind of dramatic about all of this."

"Oh you haven't seen dramatic yet." Michonne could hear movement on the other end like Sasha was pacing, then she took a deep breath. "Let that man kiss you." Michonne rolled her eyes. "And make sure he grabs the booty and you'll get an Oscar worthy performance."

"You are unreal."

"I'll be expecting the play by play the next time we talk. How soft those lips are, if he's a lip biter and you better tell me if he used one hand or two on your ass."

"You know what Sasha... I gotta go." She was relieved to see Rick's truck pull up.

"What? Things were just getting good."

"They're back, I gotta go Sasha."

"Oh no you don't, I want to talk to my nephews please."

"Fine, but they're not giving you any intel on me."

"I'm not trying to press them for info. You haven't even kissed the man and it's been 4 months. What the hell are they gonna tell me. I just want to say hi."

"Fine. Hold on." Michonne held the phone down at her side and then picked it back up. "And behave." She opened the screen door and stepped out just as the doors of the truck opened.

"Look mom," Carl ran up to her excited, holding a ball. "We got a new soccer ball." Judith and Andre followed behind him equally excited.

"I told them they can play in the back while we mow the front yard." Rick, in his grey tee shirt and worn faded jeans stood behind them, adjusting his cap to shade his face from the beaming sun.

"Good idea." She held her phone out to Carl and Andre. "Boys, your aunt Sasha wants to talk to you."

"Hey Aunt Sasha." They both said as they walked into the house. Michonne tried to listen, but they walked out of earshot and she couldn't hear anything. She looked down in front of her and saw Judith looking up at her smiling.

"You playing soccer too Judith?" She asked her, noticing the sparkly purple tennis shoes she wore with her pale blue dress.

"Yeah, I'm gonna kick their butts."

"Judith." Rick warned.

"Sorry." She looked back at Rick who gave her that faux threatening look that everyone could see through. Judith turned back to Michonne with a smile. "Can I go get something to drink?"

"Sure sweetie. There's some lemonade in the fridge." Judith started walking to the front door, Michonne turned to watch her go. "You need some help?"

"No, I got it."

"So we all set?" Michonne asked Rick, turning back around to him.

"Looks like it. I think everyone had the same idea that we did." He adjusted his hat, to give his hands something to do. "I was able to snag the last two packages of lawn bags that they had at the hardware store." He smiled at Michonne proudly. "And I got you a rake."

"We need one of those too?"

"Yeah." Rick chuckled and motioned with his head. "Come on. I'll get the gas can and you can meet your new rake." She couldn't tell when he handed it to her, but she guessed by the weight that it was top of the line. She was just about to ask how much she owed him for it when the boys came bounding out of the house with her phone.

"Mom, Aunt Sasha said that she'll call you in a few days." Andre handed her the phone and Carl reached for the rake.

"Okay." Michonne said holding the rake out of his reach, she wasn't done admiring it yet.

"She said to tell Rick that you need the mountain bike experience." Michonne let go of the rake in shock, but it was caught mid drop by Carl who was happy to get his hands on it. "What does that mean?" He asked trying to twirl the rake with his hands.

"I means that I'm gonna kill your Aunt Sasha." She took a deep breath and blew it out in a quick huff. "I hope you two know that that was the last time you'll hear her voice."

"Okay." They both shrugged. "We'll be in the back." Carl handed the rake back to her and then ran back to the house, Andre matching his steps to get to the backyard.

"Mountain bike?" Rick asked her confused, knowing he had never seen any type of bike in her garage.

"It's…. an inside joke thing. She thinks she's a comedian."

"Okay." Rick let it go. "You ready to get started on this lawn?"

"Yes."

"Alright." Rick rolled the new lawn mower to the edge of the yard and filled it with gas while Michonne watched. She paid special attention to the way his biceps flexed as he screwed the cap back on. She didn't notice that he had turned to look at her. "You want to pull the starter pretty hard to start the mower, then you'll squeeze the bar here and push."

"What was that?"

"The starter, right here." He touched the black plastic handle to show her. " Pull it to start the mower, then squeeze here and start pushing. Michonne nodded her head in understanding and stood behind the lawn mower, ready to go. Rick took a step back and watched her to see if she was paying attention. Her right hand reached for the handle, grabbing it, she jerked it back but nothing happened. She looked at Rick with a frown.

"Try it again a little harder." He gave her a reassuring smile and she tried again. It took her three more pulls before she pulled hard enough to get the lawn mower to roar to a start. With both hands she squeezed the the bar under her fingers and started to push forward. She was so excited that she was doing it, she let go of the bar to jump up and down.

"I did it!" The silence of the mower concerned her. "Oh no. What happened?" Rick laughed at her quick change of emotions.

"You gotta keep squeezing it or it shuts off."

"Oh." Michonne said scrunching up her face, wondering why she didn't know that.

"Try again, but this time, don't let go." Michonne nodded her head again, determined to do it right the second time. "Just walk to the end of the yard and turn it around and go back in the other direction until you're done."

"Alright."

"I'll start with the edger while you do that."

It took about an hour for Michonne to finish mowing, and then the clean up began. Rick and the kids helped with raking, sweeping and bagging up the cut grass. When they were done the kids ran into the house to pick a movie and Rick stood with Michonne as she admired their work. She was so proud about what they'd done and he was proud of her for doing it.

"I mowed a lawn Rick." She looked to her left and he was right there, smiling and agreeing with her.

"You did. It looks good." His hand caressed her back and settled on her hip. Michonne's eyes widened at the placement of his hand. Then with a quick couple of taps he ushered her into the house for lunch.

* * *

"I can't believe how sore my hands are." Michonne stood with her back leaning against the kitchen counter and opened and closed her hands to try to get the soreness out of them.

"You'll get used to it." Rick stood on the other side of the kitchen drinking a glass of lemonade, watching her flex and straighten her hands. "It'll be a regular thing now that it's spring. They'll stop hurting."

Michonne smiled and hoped it was soon. After they came into the house, everyone washed up and ate lunch. With full bellies and revived energy, Carl, Andre and Judith challenged Michonne and Rick to a game of soccer. One game turned into four and then a tie breaking fifth. By the time they were done, it was almost dinner time. Rick took Judith home so they could grab quick showers while Michonne and the boys did the same. When everyone was clean and smelling fresh, they reconvened back at Michonne's house for movies and nachos. Two movies in and all three of the kids were knocked out on the living room couches.

"Thanks, for teaching me how."

"It's no problem." He took another sip of his drink. "Besides I owe you big time for the painting you're gonna help me do next month."

"She's gonna be so surprised when she sees it."

"Yeah she will. I'm giving you all the credit for picking out the paint colors."

"I'm sure she will know you didn't." Michonne was now rubbing one hand with the other, finding no relief from what she was doing before. "Did you ever find a bookcase for her?"

"I've narrowed it down to two. The boys keep giving her comics, so I'm not sure if I should go tall and narrow or short and wide."

"You have a picture of them?"

"No. I'm going by the store tomorrow to make a decision so it's ready by the time we finish her room."

"Send me pictures tomorrow and I'll help you make a decision."

"Alright." Rick turned his head to the sound of a soft snore trying to determine which child was making it. "We should do yard work all the time. They're really out in there."

"Soccer and bagging grass really wore them out, huh?"

"Don't forget the nachos with all the fixins."

"How could I? There's no other way to have them." Rick saw that Michonne was still trying to work out the soreness in her hands. He set his drink on the counter and wiped his hands on his jeans.

"Your hands are really sore huh?"

"Yeah. I used muscles today that I've never used before."

"Come here." He watched her slowly make her way to where he was standing. Taking her hands in his, he started to knead the rarely worked muscles. "Like I said you'll get used to it. How's that feel?"

"Really good." She whispered with her eyes closed. He dropped her left hand to concentrate on just her right hand.

"Michonne." Rick waited for her eyes to open before continuing. "We never talked about what happened before."

"What?" She knew what he was talking about. He could only be talking about one thing.

"I tried to kiss you."

"Oh that." She tried to play it off, but he knew better.

"I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable." His eyes never left hers.

"Not a bit."

"I just want you to know that I like being with you, and I'd really like to get that kiss tonight." He'd stopped kneading her hand and just held it in his.

"Rick." Michonne wasn't sure what words would be best to say right now, but his name seemed like the right choice.

"But, I'm not gonna do anything you don't want." She felt him let go of her hand. "So I'll leave it up to you." Her hand felt too light and foreign without him touching it. She grabbed for his hand to make things right again and without thinking, she leaned up and pressed her lips to his. She could feel him smile against her and she saw it when she pulled back, matching his smile before he leaned in for another one.

The soft pecks and nibbles turned into something deeper when mouths opened and tongues danced. Michonne no longer worried about her hands, wrapped her arms around Rick's neck and moved closer to him, positioning herself flush against his body, Sasha's words flashed in her mind and in an attempt to be brave, she grabbed his left hand and placed it on her right ass cheek. She heard him moan at the same time that she felt him squeeze causing her to moan too. Then his lips were on her neck and his legs were moving further apart to get her to closer to him. He stopped and look in her eyes to make sure he wasn't going too far.

"I'll stop if you want me to." The sight of her kiss swollen lips was almost more than he could handle and he silently prayed that she said the words he hoped for.

"Please don't." And with a second handful he didn't. Sasha would be so proud.


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh look at you Miss Judith. You've got to be the prettiest thing here. Where's your daddy tonight?" Judith plastered on her best smile and used the manners she was taught to answer the woman who was standing a little too close and had on far too much perfume.

"He's not here yet." She answered as sweetly as she could, making sure she looked her in the eye as she spoke.

"Oh no." The woman responded worriedly, looking around to make sure Rick really wasn't there. "Who are you here with? You know you have to be here with a parent."

"She's with me." Michonne told her calmly, taking Judith's hand. The plastic bangles that she insisted on wearing were covered in yellow glitter and clinked together when Judith's arm moved with Michonne's. Her matching yellow dress had a white ruffle underneath and a white bow that was tied at her back. Getting dressed was more of a fashion show with Judith showing Michonne how her dress ballooned up when she would spin and jump up and down. And the silver shoes that she picked out shined under the strobe lights in the cafeteria and showcased the pretty ruffled socks that she choose to wear.

"Oh Ms. Bowers." She looked a little taken aback by the closeness of the two. "Judith is with you tonight?"

"Yes she is Mrs. Anderson." Michonne ignored the way she scanned her body from shoes to the top of her head. "Is Sam here?"

"No," She shook her head from side to side quickly. "He's not that into... crowds. He's a big introvert, ya know." She looked around again, darting her eyes from left to right. "Where are Carl and Andre?"

"They're with Daddy." Judith answered enthusiastically. She was all too excited to "trade" parents with the boys last night.

"Oh... Rick has them?" Mrs. Anderson asked skeptically.

"Yeah, they went to get haircuts. They should be here soon. Can't come to the May Mixer without a fresh haircut."

"Well that sounds great." Michonne noticed the way her smile seemed to dropped after she told Mrs. Anderson that Rick had Carl and Andre. She stored it away for later, not wanting to allow the school secretary to ruin her evening. "You two really help each other out don't you? It must be nice to have a friend like that in your life. You know with you being new here and all." The way she said friend made it seem like Rick and Michonne were buddies that high fived and played on the same weekend softball team. Michonne bit the inside of her cheek to keep from blurting out that his lips on hers or his hands on her ass made them very good friends indeed. Instead she took the high road and agreed.

"Yep. Friends are great."

"Fay told me she saw you at the beauty supply last week. Said you were stocking up on all kinds of nail polish and body washes." Mrs. Anderson looked down at Michonne's hand which Judith had dropped to hold up her newly painted nails.

"We did mani pedis." She lifted her foot up, forgetting that she was wearing closed toed shoes. She frowned a bit and then shrugged. "It was a lot of fun."

"Girls night out." Michonne added with a big smile.

"It was a sleepover. We had so much fun!"

"That is wonderful." It wasn't genuine and Michonne could tell she felt a bit awkward. "Well, I guess I'll see you later Miss Judith. Ms. Bowers." She nodded her head at Michonne and then turned and walked away.

"See you around Mrs. Anderson." Michonne said to her back.

"She's not very nice." Judith told Michonne. If she had to compare the two, Mrs. Anderson didn't come close to Michonne and she hoped she'd stop asking her about her daddy because she was tired of answering her questions.

"No, she's not. Some people just can't help it." Michonne took Judith's hand again and squeezed it gently with a smile. "How bout we dance while we wait for the guys. You like this song?"

"Yeah!" Michonne and Judith made their way to the center of the dance floor and let the groove of the music move them. They laughed and sang along to the songs and were quickly joined by a small group of Judith's friends who wanted to be in on the fun. Six songs later and Michonne had stopped to wipe the sweat from her face when she felt familiar fingers tap her on her shoulder. She turned around and smiled at the sparkling blue eyes that were looking back at her.

"Oh, you made it!." She looked from Rick to Carl and Andre. "Look at y'all, you look so handsome." She ran her and over the tops of their heads noticing the embarrassed look they gave with her touching them.

"Stop mom. Carl whined.

"Sorry, we're late, but we had to stop and pick up these." Rick handed her a white calla lily wrapped in yellow tissue paper and then handed a pink one to Judith who was standing next to Michonne. She squealed and sniffed it before holding it up to show the other girls who were watching nearby.

"He said he had to bring his _girls_ something since he hadn't seen them all day." Andre blushed, at the fact that Rick considered his mom one of his girls. Carl laughed at his brother who had been rolling his eyes at the way Rick gushed over Michonne all day.

"Thank you daddy."

"No problem sweetie." The girls heard the music and they all started dancing again. Carl and Andre walked over to where the other boys were standing around watching the girls dance.

"You look very nice." Michonne told Rick, impressed by the way he looked in a simple light blue button down dress shirt and grey slacks.

"I look acceptable next to you." Her lime green dress hugged all her curves and showed off her calves falling just at her knees. The strappy heels she wore allowed him a peak at the toes he liked to tickle so much, painted red to match her fingernails. "Looks like you and Judith made a whole day out of it."

"We did. Hair, nails and toes." She held up her hand and wiggled her fingers. Rick took her hand and pulled her close, dipping his head to her neck.

"And a little perfume."

"Just a little." Michonne giggled, feeling his nose on her skin. Remembering where they were, he lifted his head and smiled.

"Let me buy you some punch." They walked over to the refreshments table that was covered in trays of cookies that sat atop white vinyl tablecloths and stopped in front of a faux crystal punch bowl that was filled with orange sherbet punch. The PTA mom behind the table handed Rick two paper cups and he handed one to Michonne. They were able to find an empty corner that was away from the speakers so they could talk for a little bit.

"So how was the barber shop?" Michonne asked, handing Rick her cup so she could tuck the stem of the calla lily in her pinned up locs.

"They treated me like I was brand new since I had the boys with me." Rick ran his hand over his freshly cut hair. "Didn't have to wait or anything. I'm taking them with me every time I go from now on. They got the chair first, but I didn't mind waiting."

"Shop talk wasn't too vulgar was it?"

"Can't answer that."

"What? Why not?"

"What's talked about in the barbershop stays in the barbershop." Michonne placed her hands on her hips not believing that he wasn't going to tell her. "Don't look at me like that, that's the rule. Besides, they said they can't wait to go back, so it wasn't that bad." She sighed and decided to give him this one.

"You are more than welcome to take them anytime you want " Michonne stared at him and the sly smile he gave her. He wondered if she knew he would take them and her in a heartbeat to anywhere they ever wanted to go. "You know Mrs. Anderson was trying to give me a hard time earlier since she didn't see Judith with you."

"You were here." His brow furrowed at the thought that she was given a hard time.

"But you're her parent."

"When she's with you, I wonder about that sometimes." He decided to lighten the mood and not let Mrs. Anderson dampen the night for them.

"Is that jealousy I hear?"

"Just a little, but I get it." Michonne was always a topic of discussion in the Grimes household especially after the mural that she painted in Judith's room. Rick had no problem taking second place to Michonne with the way Judith gushed about her.

"Hey, the boys talk about you constantly. It's always Rick did this and Rick taught us that…"

"Let's just agree that we're both equally great."

"Yeah, we are." Michonne agreed with a smile, then watched as Rick's eyes looked her up and down again.

"Are they playing any slow songs at this thing?" His voice was deep as he asked near her ear.

"I don't think slow is on the agenda tonight." She shook her head and laughed at his frown. They both looked out to the dance floor where the boys had finally started dancing with the girls.

"What in the world are they doing?"

"Dancing?" They both laughed at the uncoordinated movements that the kids were doing.

"Oh Rick, you made it." Michonne and Rick turned their heads at the same time to the voice that had intruded on them.

"I did. How are you Mrs. Anderson?" HIs face was serious and showed no signs that he actually cared.

"I'm good." Mrs. Anderson blushed under the stare of his blue eyes. "This is a great turn out huh?"

"Yeah, music and food usually brings everyone out." Michonne answered. Mrs. Anderson ignored her and spoke to Rick again.

"I was telling Ms. Bowers how pretty Judith looks tonight. Her dress is so cute." She pointed to Michonne, but kept her eyes on Rick as she spoke.

"That's all on Michonne." He put an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. "She's the expert on pretty things." Michonne shrugged at a bewildered looking Mrs. Anderson who was losing the pink of her blush for something a little on the grey side.

"Well... I'll let you two get back to doing what you were doing."

"Have a good night Ms. Anderson." Rick said with a single head nod before she turned her back to them and walked away.

"I think she left some of her face on the floor." Already done with Mrs. Anderson, Rick changed the subject.

"Guess what I found yesterday."

"What?"

"I found your shirt."

"Where was it?" Michonne asked astonished. She had given up ever seeing it again.

"Behind Judith's bookcase."

"How in the world did it get there?"

"No clue. I'll try and get the paint out, but I don't know if it will." Operation paint a mural on Judith's wall had started out great. They painted her entire room sky blue and then Michonne painted giant flowers in all different shades on one wall. Reaching the high spots left her shirt covered in drops of paint and a few drops in her hair. Rick lent her one of his shirts and at the end of the night when it was all over, the room was beautiful, but her painted up shirt was nowhere to be found.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just keep the one you gave me."

"The one I let you borrow?" He was only kidding as he looked at her with his authoritative deputy face. He couldn't get the image of her wearing his favorite baseball teams shirt out of his mind.

"Well, you know where it is if you want it back." He did and was prepared to go after it when the time was right.

"Mom, come dance with us!" Carl yelled out to Michonne.

"Looks like I gotta go show them my moves." She started to walk away leaving Rick to hang back and watch what they did.

"You too Rick!" Andre said. Grinning, Rick caught up to Michonne and smiled.

"I forgot they said they'd show me how to Floss" he motioned like he was flossing his teeth and Michonne roared with laughter at his goofy side.

"Oh boy, this should be fun." Rick stood in the middle of Carl and Andre and they slowly taught him all he needed to know about the Floss. It took him a few tries to get his hips to move with his arms, but once he figured it out he was leading the whole dance floor of elementary kids like a second rate dance show.

By the time Rick's arms were tired of moving back and forth, Michonne's sides were sore from all the laughing she'd done. He stopped and walked over to her, took her hand and led her away from the dance floor.

* * *

"This is way more my speed." Twenty minutes later, and Rick had Michonne pressed up against him in a slow dance that didn't match the uptempo song that that was playing through the speakers. "I might have thrown my hip out trying to do that dance. Why do they even call it a dance?"

"I have no idea, but you looked great doing it." She was laughing as she said it, but he believed her anyways.

"I'm sure I did." He raised her arm and spun her slowly, making sure to her a good look at her behind in the process. "Hey, as long as the kids are laughing huh."

"Yeah. There was lots of laughing." She felt his fingers at the small of her back tapping lower and lower along her spine. "Make sure your hands stay at an elementary dance appropriate level."

"I'm being really good. It's my hands that seem to have a mind of their own."

"Uh huh." Rick gave her a few kisses along her jaw and then one to her smiling lips.

"How long are you and Judith going to be gone next week?"

"I'll be gone a few days to drop her off. She'll be there for three weeks." Judith was going away to spend time with Rick's parents right after school let out for the summer. It would be three weeks without her and Michonne wasn't sure if she could handle it.

"They have a whole farm Rick, will she want to come back?" Her sad face made Rick smile.

"She'll want to come back to you. You're her favorite. I'll make sure she calls you okay."

"Good, I'm gonna miss her." Michonne looked at her nails and thought about the fun she had with Judith. It was different than hanging out with Carl and Andre. Judith shared her love of glitter nail polish and lip gloss that they couldn't tell Rick about. "The boys are gonna miss her too."

"Three weeks will go by fast. She'll be back before you know it."

"I hope so."

"So what about me? I don't get to be missed?" Of course she'd miss him. They'd seen each other everyday for almost six months. She was glad for FaceTime because she wasn't sure how she was supposed to not see his face for a few days.

"I'll let you know when you come back." She played it off, but he saw through it.

"Maybe I can take the boys to a baseball game or something. Let you relax by yourself for a while." Michonne looked at him with an excited stare. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been by herself for more than an hour. She started running through all the things that she could do in an empty house and all the errands that she'd fly through without waiting for groaning boys to get out of the car.

"If you're serious, I'll buy the hot dogs."

"I am, and I can buy the hot dogs." The song had changed, but they were still slow dancing to whatever song Rick had in his head. Michonne was sure it was the longest version of the slowest song he knew, but she didn't mind because the strength of his arms around her was enough to keep her right where she was without any music at all. "You know what we should do?" He looked around to see who was watching and then placed a few kisses to her neck."

"What?"

"We should get the kids and go take a picture over there." He spoke into her neck about the photographer on the other side of the room, the scent of her perfume keeping him from lifting his head. "They print them right after."

"I like that idea. We can even take one together. Like prom night." He turned her around so that her back was pressed to his chest.

"Yep, just like that. Hold your hands like this," he placed her right hand in front of her left and held them at her belly. "Then I'll put my hands awkwardly on your waist and try not to blink at the flash."

"That sounds perfect. Let's go get them."


	6. Chapter 6

"So how's the farm?"

"Good I guess, I get rushed off the phone whenever I call." Michonne watched the ceiling fan whirl above her head as she talked to Sasha. The June temps were steadily climbing and the ceiling fan was as essential as staying hydrated during the summer months.

"I still can't believe you let Carl and Andre go stay with Rick's parents."

"You didn't see their faces when Rick told them they could come too. I couldn't say no. Besides his parents offered after Judith put up such a fuss for them to come with her saying how much she'd miss them and stuff. I couldn't say no to that."

"You tell me no all the time." Sasha said feigning disgust, but Michonne could hear the smile in her voice.

"You need to be told no." She yawned and stretched her arms above her head, wiggling a little to get more comfortable. The phone was sitting on her belly while they talked on speaker.

"Are you still in the bed? It's 1:30 in the afternoon."

"How often do I have a house to myself?" Michonne yawned again. "I'm taking full advantage of it. I might not get out of this bed until sometime tomorrow." She pulled the wrinkled light grey sheet up on her body, making sure the phone didn't fall off and thought about how a mini fridge right next to her bed would be a great addition to her room right about now.

"Yeah, I guess I can understand that. Moms don't get days off and the overtime that single moms put in is mind boggling. Treat yo self."

"That's what I'm doing."

"So the young farmers are good then?"

"They're on a farm. What kid wouldn't be having a blast?" Michonne smiled when she thought of the daily pictures that Rick's parents sent her of the kids enjoying their time on the farm. "When I do get them to talk to me for more than five minutes, they tell me about chasing the goats around and gathering eggs. Judith said Carl was scared of the worms they dug up for fishing the other day."

"Poor kid, I don't blame him. They're all slimy and wiggly. Remember when it would rain all hard and they'd be all over the sidewalk. We could barely walk anywhere."

"You tiptoed through a maze of worms for like four blocks." Michonne laughed at the memory. "And all the earth worms."

"That's not even funny. They shouldn't be so long. It's nasty. So back to the kids." Sasha said needing to change the subject.

"So after Judith snitched about the worms, he told on her and Andre and said that they snuck into the kitchen the other night and ate all the pudding. Apparently he wanted to eat it for breakfast."

"It was probably chocolate. They need to leave my Carl alone."

"He'll be alright. Andre said that they each caught a frog down at the creek and they named them Lollipop, Sucker and Dum Dum."

"That is super cute Which one belongs for who?"

"No clue, they laughed the whole time they were telling me then they had to go because horses or something. I couldn't understand before they hung up in my face." Michonne stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. She loved talking to the kids, but hated feeling last in line, so to speak, coming after Rick's parents, farm animals and open air.

"House not feeling too big with just you is it?"

"It's different." Michonne sighed. "I keep thinking it's too quiet and the boys must be up to something and I'll hear them arguing any minute, but then I remember that they're not here."

"I was like that when you guys left."

"You pushed us out the door Sasha."

"Technically, you needed to go. But anyways. I would just be expecting y'all to drive up for dinner or something, and I had to remind myself that you had moved away. Took me a while to get used to it."

"Well, like you I'm sure, I have a fridge full of food and no towels on the bathroom floor." Michonne smiled thinking about the stack of towels that were folded neatly in the closet and not in a pile on the floor.

"That laundry situation doesn't sound too bad. So... where's that man of yours? It's been a week since he dropped off the kids, y'all having sleepovers yet?" Michonne had been waiting for that question and was surprised it wasn't what Sasha opened the conversation with.

"He's... working. And no he hasn't slept over."

"Ugh! Why not?" Sasha said disappointed. "I swear y'all are in the slowest relationship ever. You sure he's not courting you like they used to do back in the day. Tell him he has my permission to get all up in that."

"Sasha!"

"What? Y'all are two grown ass adults whose kids are in another state for the next two weeks. Tell him to get off work and start getting you off."

"Sasha!"

"And don't forget to return the favor." Sasha sighed in exasperation right in the phone making Michonne glad she wasn't holding it to her ear. "He really hasn't slept over?"

"No. Does he need to?"

"Yes! You are really disappointing sometime Michonne."

"I really try to be." She could feel Sasha's eye roll through the phone.

"Are you ready for when he does?"

"Sleepover?" Michonne asked, knowing good and well what her sister was talking about.

"Yes."

"Ready how?"

"Oh my god. I knew I should have sent you a video. Make sure you're trimmed and shaved and wearing your good panties. The ones with the matching bra that you'd never wear on your period."

"Uh huh."

"Are you ready?"

"I'm not telling you all that."

"Why the hell not? I need to know that you're ready. It's been a while Michonne. I'm just making sure you remember all the prep the first time takes. Men like smooth legs and not getting hairs caught in their throat from…"

"I know Sasha!"

"I sure hope so. So are you gonna text him and tell him to get over there ASAP?"

"No, I'm not. He'll be off work later tonight." Michonne giggled and them quieted quickly.

"So y'all made plans to go out or something?"

"No plans. We'll discuss it later, but dinner might be nice."

"You should put on something sexy and make his favorite meal. Strappy heels and a short skirt. Bend over a lot. What does he like to eat?"

"Oh...I don't know." Michonne held her breath as Rick who was now awake beside her used his fingers to play in her still wet center. She hoped Sasha couldn't sense her guilty conscience for lying through the phone. As soon as he got off work the night before, he drove straight to her house after picking up some take out for the two of them. They thought they would have a nice quiet dinner alone and maybe watch an R rated movie, but once the food was on the table they forgot all about it and starred in their own X rated one. Michonne was lifted onto the counter while Rick undid the buttons on her shirt, praising the heavens for whoever decided on the counter height, because he was eye level to the best set of breasts he'd ever seen. Even with her pink satin bra on, he was mesmerized. She started to unbuckle his belt when his lips touched her neck and then pushed them down his legs when his tongue traveled from the base of her throat to the valley between the perfect set of breast of hers. Somehow they made it to the bedroom, but not before shedding all of their clothes on the way and they now lay in various parts of the hallway and kitchen floor. But she wasn't about to tell Sasha that.

"You need to find out. You know all that key to a man's heart stuff is actually true." Michonne was biting down on her bottom lip to keep from screaming and to remind herself not to moan. Rick's fingers had gone from just playing to being tantalizingly torturous when he inserted two and slowly started moving them in and out of her. When she started to squeeze against them and he felt that she couldn't take anymore, he removed them just before she could finish and made a display of licking them clean, seamingly agreeing with the key to a man's heart bit Sasha just uttered.

"I will," Michonne whispered out, hoping her nosier than most sister couldn't tell what was going on.

"Are you falling asleep on me?"

"Yes." Michonne answered in a hiss. Rick's fingers had disappeared within her walls again, but this time he added a tongue to the nipple closest to his mouth, making slow work of the circle that made up her areola. "I gotta…" She'd threatened Sasha with hanging up on her before, but this time she really did. Not even trying to finish her sentence, she pressed the end call button and tossed her phone across the room.

"Finally." Rick said around the hard nipple between his lips.

"You are so bad." Michonne moaned.

"You like it," He said now starting to suck.

"Yes, I do." Moments later he was kissing her lips as he entered her at a snail's pace, making sure every inch of him, was familiar with every inch of her. When he was well versed in the heat and feel of Michonne, he wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled her closer with a firm hand on her hip.

"Shit. That never gets old." He rasped out. The first time Rick was focused on her warmth and slickness. How long it took her to take all of him in, making sure he set a steady pace that had them both satisfied in the end. That was over twelve hours ago and more rounds than either of them had kept up with. Now, it was still her warmth he noticed, but it was the warmth of home he recognized. "Have I told you how good you feel?"

"Not this time," she whispered. He gave a low growl in her ear when he felt her squeeze around him and her hips moving with him.

"That's not fair."

"Neither were your fingers when I was on the phone. Payback is a…" She was cut off when Rick thrust deep and stayed there for a few seconds before pulling out watching her eyelids flutter closed.

"What was that you were saying?"

"Fuck."

"I like when you talk like that. Maybe I should do that again." She barely saw the grin that was on his face as her eyes closed again when he started to move inside her.

"Maybe you should." And he did once more before settling into a slow rhythm of strokes that had Michonne moaning and tightening her legs around his waist. "Rick...ohh." Watching her mouth form into the O that she moaned out, was too much for him, He leaned his head down and licked her lips, meeting her tongue before sucking it into his mouth. He started moving faster when her hands fisted into his hair, pulling him closer as she felt her world about to shatter around him. "Don't stop. Please, don't stop." Rick knew better than to ever do that, so he focused on her hands now gripping his biceps and the way her thighs were tightening around him. A few more strokes and she broke apart, clutching his arm with one hand and the sheets with the other, he followed soon after calling her name as he emptied inside her.

"You're gonna have to give me a break." He uttered once he caught his breath, now laying beside her, the sheet she had before nowhere to be found. "I don't know how much longer I can keep up with you."

"Me? I'm pretty sure you started things this time."

"It be a lot easier if you'd put some clothes on."

"Fine." Michonne rolled over to get out of the bed, but was caught and brought back by the strong arms of Rick's.

"No, you're good just the way you are." she laughed as Rick laid back down, bringing her with him, pulling her leg across his. "You know that Polar Plunge sounds good right about now. You got me sweating." He chuckled feeling Michonne lightly swat his arm. "I'm serious. It's June, I bet we fogged up the windows."

"I guess we can stop then, since you've gotten your fill and you're all sweaty."

"I'm not even close to my fill." He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You didn't want to tell Sasha I was here?"

"No." She sat up to look him in the eyes. "It has nothing to do with you. She'll be over the moon excited to find out. I just didn't want to answer any questions."

"What kind of things would she ask?" His hand gently guided her to the spot on his chest she just vacated.

"She's gonna want details. Lots of them."

"About me?" Rick asked a bit confused about the details Sasha might want to know.

"Probably a few about you, most of them will be about me. Did I remember how everything works and did I let myself go enough to enjoy it. You heard her on the phone, shaving and matching panties. She's gonna want to know a lot."

"I can give her the answer to a few of those. At least I think I can. Did you enjoy it?"

"I did. If I didn't you wouldn't still be here." Michonne took a deep breath and exhaled, thinking about how nervous she's been about them finally taking the next step. "I stressed a lot before you came over."

"Why?" Michonne took another breath before answering.

"I have only been with one other man; my husband and then you came along and...I don't know, I guess I just didn't want to disappoint you. It sounds stupid when I say it out loud."

"Only because you had nothing to worry about. As you can see, it's me who should be worried. I feel like I'm wearing you out." He smoothed his leg down her thigh and gave it a squeeze.

"You're not." She answered honestly. Even with being out of practice, being with Rick was easy. Thinking back on it now, she really didn't have anything to worry about. Not with him.

"I've had this image of you in your bathing suit since the first day of January, just burning away in my head. The way you sounded when you hit the water, I heard that in my dreams for three months."

"It was so cold. I can still feel it in my bones sometimes." He pulled her in closer to him, hoping the heat from their damp skin touching would melt away any lingering frozen phantom chills. "So what did you do after you'd hear me in your dreams for months?"

"Maybe I'll show you some time." She looked up and saw the slight blush in his cheeks and could only imagine what he was thinking about. "I think we do pretty well together. Can I tell you something?"

"Anything."

"As corny as it sounds I'm honored that you choose me to...help jog your memory about how things work." He chuckled at his choice of phrase.

"Like riding a bike." Michonne said.

"A mountain bike?" Rick asked, looking over at her reaction.

"Oh my...how did you know?"

"I'm a cop, it's part of my job to read between the lines and figure things out. I don't think we're at mountain bike yet, but we'll get there. Maybe by tomorrow night." He heard her laugh at the same time as her stomach started to growl and then his did the same. "Hungry?"

"Yes, but I'd love to take a shower first or soak in the tub. You worked muscles that haven't been used in a very long time."

"You probably should try and soak some of the soreness out. I should have packed some icy hot in my bag for myself."

"Come join me and I'll massage your back."

"Just a massage right?" Rick joked. "You wouldn't be using me for my body would you?"

"Of course I am."

"I don't mind one bit." He kissed her forehead again and they lay there a bit longer, watching the ceiling fan spin above their heads.

"Can I tell you something?" Michonne asked.

"Is it that you love me?"

"How did you know?" She asked shocked.

"Would you believe me if I said I can see it in your eyes?"

"Maybe."

"Well are you gonna say it?" He squeezed her thigh again wanting to hear it from her lips.

"I think you ruined the moment." Rick propped up on one elbow to look at her.

"Then I'll go first. I love you Michonne Bowers." He kissed her softly against her smiling lips.

"I love you too Rick."


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey batter, batter batter!"

"Hit a homegoal Carl!"

"A home run Judith," Michonne corrected.

"Oh. A home run! Hit a home run Carl." It was strike two with the bases loaded, the crowd went still as the next ball was thrown Carl's way. He swung just as the ball hit his thumb.

"Boo!," someone teased from the stands. The parent pitcher was apologetic, taking the good natured ribbing in stride. Carl dropped the bat and hoped putting his thumb in his mouth, he could suck away the pain. After a few moments he brought his thumb out of his mouth to look at it, the throbbing making him wonder if it was still attached.

"Shake it off!" someone yelled from the stands. Carl shook his hand up and down then stuck his thumb back in his mouth when the throbbing started to feel worse. Rick looked at Michonne's concerned face and motioned with his hands for her to stay in her seat. His calm walk settled her nerves a bit, but until she saw Carl give his alright signal, she'd stay on the edge of her seat.

Rick took Carl's hand in his to look it over, instructing him to move it from left to right. They said some other words to each other, but they were too far away for Michonne to hear. Then Carl handed Rick his bat. He bent down so he could get some dirt from home plate. He rubbed it on his thumb and took his bat back while everyone clapped. Then before getting into his stance again, Carl turned his head towards Michonne and touched the bill of his cap, the signal that he was alright. He nodded to the pitcher to say he was ready and waited for the pitch.

"Strike three!" The ump yelled with a clenched fist.

"Awe man," Judith moaned.

"Good try honey," Michonne shouted looking at Carl to see if she's embarrassed him.

"You think Andre will do any better?" Judith looked up at Michonne, her eyes squinted even though she wore eye black on the tops of her cheeks, not wanting to be left out when Andre and Carl were getting ready for the game that morning.

"I don't know. He looks ready. He's got his game face on." They watched Andre walk up to the plate and take a few practice swings. The annual KC baseball game was always played at the 4th of July carnival at the park. This was Rick's first year participating in the baseball game since it was a kids only game played between the children of the sheriff's department and the fire department. Judith had never had any interest in playing, but when he brought it up playing the 10 game season to Carl and Andre, they were more that happy to play and he couldn't wait to be coach.

"Alright son, keep your eye on the ball and watch your stance." Rick told Andre. "Remember if you don't like it, don't swing. You got this." He tapped the top of his blue batting helmet and walked to the dugout. The pitcher nodded at Andre and threw the ball.

"Strike one!" The umpire yelled.

"Bring em home Andre!" One of the deputies shouted from the stands. The pitcher lined up his arm and let the next ball fly towards Andre, who swung as hard as he could.

"Strike two!"

"Watch that ball Andre!" Michonne yelled starting to get nervous. The next ball sailed low and to the left. Andre held his stance and didn't swing, letting the ball fall to the ground and roll behind him.

"Baaaall one!"

"Good eye Andre," Rick said. "Don't swing if you don't like it."

The pitcher lined up his arm again and waited for Andre to settle into his stance before throwing the ball. Judith and Michonne held their breaths as the next pitch seemed to move in slow motion towards Andre's awaiting bat. He swung at the white and red blur that was flying towards him and although he was expecting to hear the swish through the air as he struck out, he heard the end of his bat connect with the ball, sending it soaring over the heads of the pitcher, second baseman and all the scrambling outfielders. Shocked, Andre stood and watched the ball fly over the chain link fence and hit the ground.

"Run! Run! Run!" The crowd shouted at him, to get him moving. Andre slowly smiled, realizing what he had actually done and dropped his bat, heading to first to start rounding the bases. The outside of his foot stomped on the corner of every base as the crowd cheered him on. He headed into home towards his waiting teammates who were crowding the plate, backing up to make room with every hurried step he took. At the last minute Andre decided not to hop onto home plate, but to slide feet first. He scored surrounded by a cloud of red dirt and his cheering team. Michonne laughed and Judith laughed at his dirt covered pants and the ecstatic team that had won their first game of the season.

"They won! They won!" Judith bounced up and down genuinely proud of Andre for hitting the grand slam that brought in the team to have them win by two runs.

"Good game Grimes," The fire department coach said to Rick as he was packing all the baseball gear up into a rolling wagon. "Can't believe you won your first year coaching."

"It happens, I guess," Rick zipped up the red bag in his hand and tossed it in the wagon next to Carl and Andre's bats.

"Yeah right," Douglas, one of the veteran firefighters said coming up and slapping Rick on the back. "You stacked your team and they're not even your kids." He pointed to Andre and Carl who were on the bench sipping the last of their water.

"Who told you that?" Rick didn't care for what Douglas said, but he wasn't going to engage him at the town carnival. There was a time and place for everything. "Where do you think they get their swing from?" Rick winked at Carl and Andre, and then turned his back on Douglas when he saw Michonne walk up.

"Good game guys." She said sweetly.

"Did you see my hit mom?" Andre asked as he and Carl walked over to her.

"Of course I saw it. It went over the fence. I didn't even know you could hit that hard."

"We've been practicing," Rick said through his own huge proud smile looking at Andre and Carl who were standing beside him.

"Yeah, I finally hit the ball and it was the last game." Andre's disappointed look made Michonne chuckle. Neither of her boys had ever played baseball before this season, and they took to it like it was their calling. She had been taught so many MLB players names, she was starting to call them out when she'd call Carl and Andre in for dinner.

"We can always hit a few down at the batting cages."

"Can we?" Carl asked Rick, perking up at the possibility.

"I don't see why not. Maybe we can get the girls in there too. Teach them how to swing the bat."

"That might take forever," Andre teased.

"Hey, Judith and I might be really good players with the right coaching." Judith looked away, not interested in holding a bat. Soccer was her sport, and her mind couldn't be changed.

"Can we go get some cotton candy?" Carl asked.

"Yes, but change out of your cleats first." The boys bent down and untied their laces before toeing off their neon colored cleats and tossing them in the wagon. Michonne handed tickets to all three of them when Carl and Andre had their regular shoes on, giving them a warning before they tried to rush off.

"Only one bag for each of you. The extra ticket is for water, okay." They all nodded their heads. "We're gonna take this stuff to the car and meet you at the tables by the green stage."

"Okay," they all said together.

"Watch out for each other."

"Okay," They said again as they walked off, Judith flanked on both sides by Carl and Andre.

"Good game coach," Michonne said once they were alone, stepping closer to Rick.

"Thank you." Rick took his battered cap off and pulled Michonne into his arm. "It's pretty easy when the players mom looks so good cheering in the stands. Makes me want to show off for her." He placed a sweet kiss to her lips, recognizing that they were out in public and he had to behave.

"Let's get this stuff to the truck. I want to change my shirt." The white and red shirt that Rick was wearing was wore all the stains of a summer baseball game. Sweat, dirt and drops of the orange sports drink he drank during the game. Rick pulled the wagon with one hand and held Michonne's hand with the other. When they got to truck, Rick lifted the wagon into the bed before rummaging through the backseat for a clean tee shirt to change into. He slipped his game shirt over his head, taking his time before changing into the new shirt so that Michonne could get a good look.

"You are so silly." The red tank top that she wore showed off her toned arms and was just low enough for Rick to see the beginning of the line of cleavage he loved to run his tongue along. "You better hurry up before someone sees you out here half naked."

"I like those shorts you're wearing." He slipped his shirt on, keeping his eyes on her thighs and wondering how easy it would be to get the denim shorts off her body.

"Oh no you don't. Come on," Michonne said, noticing Rick look from her to the backseat. "Let's go before we get carried away."

"You're right. Let's go see about the kids. Besides," Rick said closing the door. "The backseat will be there when we get home."

"Can I get my face painted?" Judith asked Rick and Michonne when they walked up to where the kids were sitting at a wooden picnic table. She was licking the sticky spun sugar off her fingers which matched the color blue color of her mouth.

"Sure. Do you know what you want?"

"I saw a girl with a pretty butterfly. It was yellow and had glitter."

"Then let's go see about getting that then. Which way is the face painting?" Michonne asked Judith.

"I don't know." She shrugged.

"There's a map over there by the ticket booth." Rick pointed in the direction of the small booth with a hot pink roof.

"Do we have to go?" Carl whined. "I want to play some games."

"Yeah, there's the balloon pop game with the darts. You can win galaxy slime if you pop five of them." Andre said excited about the prize.

"The three of y'all have been making slime since school let out." Rick looked at Michonne thinking about the mess both of their kitchens had looked like on several occasions.

"Please?" Andre begged.

"Alright," Rick looked to the boys then back to Michonne. "You got her, I got them."

"Sounds like a plan. We'll find you when we have a butterfly on our face." Michonne grabbed Judith's hand and headed towards the booth to find the map.

"That doesn't look like a butterfly," Rick said a bit confused when Judith and Michonne met up with them 45 minutes later.

"She changed her mind when she saw all the selections. The dragon became her favorite." Carl and Andre looked over the green scaled animal that covered half of Judith's face and came complete with fire that took up most of her forehead.

"That's pretty cool Judith," Andre approved. "Look at the slime I got." He handed her the small can that was filled with a multicolored glitter slime. "It took me eight time to finally get it." Michonne looked to Rick with wide eyes and mouthed the word eight. He waved it off remembering how happy Andre was to have the can of slime in his hands.

"What are we playing now?" Carl asked. "Can we do the ring toss? I bet I win in less than eight tries."

"Yeah right." They all walked towards the booth with green glass bottles, set up just right to make it hard for you to toss the ring around the neck.

"Step right up and try your luck. Winner gets to pick a prize." the game attendant pointed to a wall lined with small toys that could be won. Carl handed him the six tickets it took to play and tossed his first ring. When all was said and done, Carl walked away with a zombie keychain and was thirty tickets lighter.

* * *

"Come on, we have to get a good seat."

"All the seats are good Judith," Rick told her.

"But this is their first time, I want them to see everything." Judith held onto Michonne's hand leading the group through the crowded grassy area looking for the best spot for them to see the fireworks that were going to start in an hour.

"This looks like a great spot Judith," Michonne stopped in the middle of an open area that seemed big enough for the queen size blanket they had.

"Umm..," moving two spaces to the left Judith replied. "This is perfect."

"Finally," Carl and Andre said at the same time. They each took a corner of the blanket, helping Rick spread it out so they all could sit down.

"Are there any more pretzels?" Andre asked after the blanket was down and everyone was sitting.

"We've got all sorts of things in the bag." Michonne riffled through the large straw tote that she carried and pulled out three small bags of pretzels to give to the kids. The sun was just beginning to set and a cool breeze was ushering in the evening sky. The day had been long and was finally at its end. The fireworks show was touted as the best one yet, but they said that every year.

"It feels good to sit down, Carl said stretching out his legs with his arms above his head

"That's lying down Carl," Andre corrected.

"Well it feels good."

"Can we take our shoes off?" Andre asked.

"Sure, just stuff your socks inside so they don't disappear," Rick answered. In no time there was a pile of shoes at the corner of the blanket and all three kids were on their backs looking up at the sky picking out the stars as they appeared in the sky.

"This was a good day." Rick said to Michonne who sat beside him.

"Yes it was. Our first carnival was a great success." Michonne picked up the small wooden cat that sat in her lap and placed it in the palm of her hand. "I love my little cat. Thank you."

"I better see that cat in the middle of your mantel," Michonne started to laugh. "With a spotlight. I can't believe I had to work so hard for such a small piece of wood." Rick just knew that shooting down the tin ducks would be light work and he could win something for Michonne in no time, but it took try after try to finally win.

"But it's beautiful. That game is rigged anyways." She bumped him with her shoulder. "There's no way it should take that long for a sheriff's deputy to knock down five ducks."

"Tell me about it." Rick brought his hand up to massage his shoulder on this throwing arm.

"You really were working hard, weren't you?" Michonne said, noticing the way he was squeezing the muscle of his left shoulder. She moved behind him, standing on her knees to take over the massage for him.

"Mmmm, that feels good. I ever tell you how much I like your hands?" He started rolling his head around feeling the kink start to go away.

"A few times." He took his hands and reached behind him to rub them over the smooth skin of her calves. Leaning his head back he licked his lips to ask for a kiss and she didn't hesitate.

"Mmmm, that feels good too." His hands crept higher ending up at the back of her thighs.

"Slow down there deputy." she gave him another couple of pecks before lifting his head and playing in his hair.

"Come on up here, before they start the show." Rick said, glad that Michonne was the sensible one of the two of them. The high school band had set up on the stage and the first chords of Stars and Stripes Forever began to play. Michonne took a seat in front of Rick settling her back against his chest. He pulled her in closer, moving her hair to one side of her neck to free the other up for the kisses he planned to pepper it with. As the song came to a close, the first sparks of light sailed up into the air, exploding into colored circles, starbursts and hearts.

"Look daddy!" Judith pointed to the sky at the red KC that lit up the night." For the next hour they watched as the fireworks boomed and showered their faces in light as they looked on in awe at the shapes that were made in the sky.

When it was all over Rick and Michonne had to shake the kids awake wondering how they fell asleep with all the noise around them.

"Is it time to go home now?" Judith asked.

"Yes, sweetheart. It's all over. Put your shoes on so we can head to the truck." Groggy and half asleep, the three of them slipped their shoes on as they stood in the grass so Rick and Michonne could fold up the blanket. He took one end and she took the other, coming together in the middle to make the folds. When they met for the last fold, Rick took the blanket from Michonne and pulled her close, planting a kiss to her lips.

"Eww…" Carl, Judith and Andre said before laughing.

"Whatever. Let's get going. Michonne and I have to check the backseat after y'all go to bed."

"Check it for what?" Carl asked as Michonne looked at Rick in disbelief.

"Your mom wants to check to see if a mountain bike will fit back there."

"You're getting a bike? Andre asked not remember ever seeing her on one.

"Umm… I might. I think we need to get home though. It's getting late and it'll be hard to measure anything the later it gets." The darkness masked the blush that crept up her neck to her face.

"Then let's get home then," Rick smiled at Michonne as she played off the flustered look on her face. He knew he was in trouble, but we was looking forward to taking his punishment.


	8. Chapter 8

"You have to be there all day? On your birthday?"

"It's still a workday, Sasha." The sound of rustling papers and staples being put in the wall could be heard in the background. Sasha sighed, hating that this was how her baby sister was spending her birthday.

"But all you're doing is decorating your classroom. That really takes all day?"

"If I do a good job it does." Michonne blew out a breath, shaking her head even though no one could see her. This was the exact conversation that she'd had with Sasha last year and every year before that. She couldn't control when her birthday fell, or that it happened at the start of the new school year no matter how hard she tried.

"Do they even know it's your birthday?"

"I still have to get this classroom done," Michonne answered, ignoring the question.

"That's some bull…"

"Sasha! Language."

"It's not my fault you got me on speaker. You know how I am."

"Unfortunately I do," Michonne held in her laugh. She couldn't remember a time when her big sister wasn't unfiltered. Always saying what popped into her head no matter who was around.

"Your door's closed isn't it?"

"I'm not crazy enough to keep it open with you on the phone."

"So I can say whatever the hell I want then." Michonne could tell by the tone of Sasha's voice that she was either standing with a hand on her hip or rolling her neck.

"You always do." The summer was over and Michonne had returned to work that Monday, sitting through staff development meetings and testing stats, trying to stay awake while her body failed to adjust to her new early wake up time.

"Did Rick drive you to work today?"

"Yeah, he and the kids helped me carry some boxes in. He'll be here in about two hours to pick me up."

"After you put twelve different colors on the walls?"

"It's just a few colors, it's an art room after all. There's also some posters about the elements and principles of art, artwork posters and a few posters of my favorite artists." Sasha yawned into the phone. "You asked."

"Do you have David up there? You know I love that one." Michelango had always been Sasha's favorite artist.

"You love all naked men."

"Not all of them," Sasha laughed, thinking about the poor guys that didn't make it to her _Love of The Naked Man_ list because they came up short. "You remember that guy Frank? He tried so hard."

"Let's change the subject please."

"Fine, you're no fun. Did the kids get the socks I sent them?"

"Yes they did. Judith loves the ones with the unicorns playing soccer. She loved all of them, but those were her favorite."

"I knew she'd like them. When I saw them at the store they practically jumped in my hand and yelled take me to Judith. What about the boys?"

"Of course they liked them. They were expecting them and you didn't disappoint." Every year Sasha bought back to school socks for Carl and Andre, the crazier the better. This year she was all too excited to buy some for a little girl.

"I almost started crying when I looked at the size of them. I remember their cute little baby toes when they were crawling and toddling around. Now they're almost grown man size."

"Don't start Sasha. You're gonna make me cry," Michonne sniffled, trying not to let her tears fall. Her boys were growing up before her eyes. No longer calling her to help them with every little thing they needed to do. Instead, Carl and Andre took the initiative to do things on their own, like taking out the trash and washing the dishes. She knew she owed some of it to Rick and his influence, but the reality was that her twins, who she used to be able to cradle in both arms at the same time, were growing into young men and there was nothing she could do to slow the process down. "The other day I was digging in the kitchen drawer trying to find the tape measure and I came across the flyer for the Polar Plunge. I still can't believe you talked me into doing that."

"It's not like I twisted your arm all the way from here."

"You may as well have," She went quiet for a bit before starting again quietly. "Things have changed so much in the 8 months that we've been here. Great house, great job…"

"You're in love," Sasha said smiling, happy for her sister.

"I am in love," Michonne gushed, blushing from thoughts of her man. "With Rick and Judith. That little girl is the best."

"Her daddy ain't too bad himself," Sasha added. Michonne went quiet, letting her smile take over her face. Sasha knew they reason why. "Oh my god, you're thinking about him aren't you? Did y'all get it in this morning?"

"Damnit Sasha."

"What? The door's closed Michonne. You can give me all the details."

"So Carl loved the socks with the roller skates on them." Michonne wasn't about to give her sister anything she could use as ammunition against her or use to embarrass her with later.

"You're no fun. Why can't you give me something? I know he keeps a smile on that face of yours. That voice of his alone, puts one on mine."

"When did you talk to him?" Michonne asked surprise in her voice.

"Don't worry about that."

"Have y'all been talking behind my back? I only know of the few times y'all talked when…"

"When y'all's slick asses were all up in the bed together like I wouldn't find out."

"Yeah, those couple of times. You talked to him other times?"

"So what posters did you put up?" Sasha tried to avoid the question, but knew Michonne wouldn't let it go.

"Sasha?"

"Whaaat?"

"When did you talk to Rick?"

"We talk all the time. If you must know." Michonne had no idea why her sister was getting an attitude. If anyone should be upset it should her after hearing that Rick and Sasha have been having secret conversations behind her back.

"Why? What about?"

"Because I need to know about the man that my sister is with. He spends too much time with my sweet nephews for me not to know. He's pretty funny in that corny dad way."

"How did you even get his number?"

"He works for the sheriff's department. I just looked up the number and had them connect me to Deputy Grimes one day."

"He's supposed to be working Sasha? Why are you calling him? What do y'all talk about?"

"I just call to get the scoop on everybody. You don't like to share, so I got to get it from somewhere." Sasha said smugly.

"How often do you call him?" Michonne sat on top of one of the work tables in her room. It was the closest thing to her and sitting would keep her from pacing the floor.

"How often does he go to work?"

"Sasha!" Michonne yelled towards the phone on a nearby bookcase. She couldn't believe that Sasha was calling Rick five days a week and she knew nothing about it.

"I'm kidding. I've only called him at work a few times. Then he got tired of me calling the station and gave me his cell number." The truth was they'd only talked a handful of times. Mostly Sasha grilling him about his past, the kids and his intentions with her sister. Rick called Sasha even less and it was always because he had a very important question. But since Sasha liked to see Michonne sweat, she wasn't going to share that information with her.

"I can't believe you Sasha. I'm about to cross you off my Christmas list."

"You would never."

"Watch me," Michonne mentally thought about drawing a fat red line through Sasha's name. "What do y'all talk about?"

"Don't worry, he's just like you when it comes to sex. He tells me nothing. Most of our talks are about the kids."

"He'd never say anything about that."

"I did make him blush once when I asked him if he makes you scream."

"You did not ask him that."

"I sure did. I have a right to know."

"What right? You have no right! And how do you know he was blushing?"

"He started stuttering. _I uh...well. I guess...I guess you'll have to ask her._ It was the cutest thing Michonne. You've got a good one in that Rick."

"I know," Michonne whispered, now blushing herself.

"How come he's not there helping you hang up all that stuff?" Being reminded that she was in her classroom to get it ready for the new school year she got off the table and went back to decorating the walls.

"He's hanging out with the kids today." Michonne looked at the clock, realizing the always punctual Rick would be there in about thirty minutes.

"I'll never get over you saying _the kids_. What were they doing today?"

"Having a lot more fun than me, that's for sure. It's their last hoorah before school starts next week, so he's trying to make it memorable. I think he took them to one of those bowling and arcade places since they couldn't make up their minds about what they wanted to do."

"What are y'all doing for your birthday? I know Rick has something special planned. Is he taking you out?"

"You know I don't ever go all out. I nice dinner out would be fine though, especially after being here all day." Michonne yawned taking a step back to see if the print by Kehinde Wiley was hanging straight above her drying racks. "I got a cute card from the kids this morning. They even put a dollar in it."

"How cute. I taught them well."

"Why you always trying to take credit for stuff?" Instead of answering, Sasha laughed. "You know what, don't answer that. Where's my birthday gift from you?"

"It's in the mail."

"What is it?"

"You'll find out when you see it." Michonne had no idea what it could be. She'd been too busy lately to drop any hints about anything that she might want. "Open it with Rick, it's for him too." Michonne was about to ask what she meant, when Rick walked through the door.

"Open what with me?"

"Hey," Michonne greeted as Rick and the kids walked into her room. Carl, Andre and Judith looked around the mostly decorated room while Rick placed a kiss on Michonne's lips.

"Hey Rick," Sasha said through the phone, recognizing his deep voice.

"Aunt Sasha!" All three kids said together leaning over the phone that was still sitting on the bookcase.

"Hey sugars. Did you have fun today?"

"Yes!" Carl said, smiling that he was the first to answer.

"I made a strike!" Judith told her, holding up her arms in triumph.

"That's fantastic!"

"What are we opening?" Rick asked in Michonne's ear, wrapping his arms around her waist while the kids continued talking to Sasha.

"My birthday present."

"Sounds promising." He kissed her neck, keeping an eye on the kids, making sure they were still occupied with their phone call.

"Sounds dangerous," Michonne giggled, thinking about what Sasha could have bought her that Rick might enjoy too.

"Like I said...promising."

"What did you get your mom for her birthday," Sasha asked whoever wanted to answer.

"It's a surprise." Andre spoke up, looking at Carl and Judith.

"You can tell me."

"Y'all say bye to Aunt Sasha, before you ruin the surprise," Rick said picking up the phone.

"What surprise?" Sasha asked, not ready to hang up now that there was a surprise coming up.

"Bye Aunt Sasha," Rick ended the call handing the phone to Michonne. She stuck it in her back pocket and then noticed the gift bags that each of them was carrying. They were unusually quiet, especially since they had been so animated a few minutes ago.

"What are the four of you up to?" She looked at each of them trying to meet eyes, but was met with eyelids as they all looked down to the floor.

"Not much," Rick said for all of them.

"We got you stuff for your desk." Andre said with a big grin.

"You're not supposed to tell her." Carl fussed.

"She didn't see anything yet." Andre told Carl.

"Come on," Judith took her hand and led her to her desk so she could sit down. "Open mine first." She shoved the gift into Michonne's hands.

"Okay," Michonne pulled the white tissue paper from the hot pink gift bag smiling at the shiny metallic stapler that was at the bottom of the bag. "It's so pretty. Thank you Judith." She set the stapler on her desk then took the next bag that Carl was handing her. She shook the bag trying to guess what was in it.

"It's not a puppy," he told her.

"That's good to know." She opened the bag and found a matching pen and pencil holder, the same metallic purple as the stapler. "You guys, I love them. My desk is going to look so nice this year."

"You haven't even opened everything yet," Andre said. He was holding his gift behind his back.

"You mean there's more?" Michonne asked feigning surprise.

"Yes, open mine." He brought the gift to his front and handed it to her. She took the bag from Andre making sure he saw how excited she was to see the tape dispenser that went with the other things she was given.

"It's a whole set. You guys did so good." She was genuinely impressed at the gift and the way they presented it to her.

"There's one more," Judith said excitedly bouncing up and down. Michonne looked up as Rick handed her the last bag. It was bigger than the other ones and had a big silver bow on the side. Just as she did before, she shook it trying to guess what was missing from the set.

"What can this be?" Michonne started pulling out tissue paper one by one, handing the pieces to each outstretched hand in front of her. She just knew Rick must have used two whole packs of tissue paper because it seemed like it would never end. When she finally did pull out the last piece, she saw the back of a nameplate at the bottom of the bag. She reached in expecting to see her name inscribed in a pretty font when she flipped it over. Her gasp when she read it told them all that she was not expecting to see what was etched in the beautiful letters on the purple nameplate. _Mrs. Grimes_. Looking up to find Rick, her eyes had to span down to where he was on one knee holding open a black velvet ring box with a peridot and diamond engagement ring nestled inside.

"I just thought…" Carl cleared his throat to correct him. "Sorry, we just thought that you should have a different name on your desk this year."

"Rick."

"Sasha told me that you'd love this ring since it's your birthstone."

"Ask her Daddy," Judith urged. Amused by her lack of patience, Rick cut to the chase.

"Will you marry me?"

"Say yes mom," Andre and Carl said together. She looked at all the waiting, smiling faces that were looking at her and knew there was only one right answer.

"Yes!"

"Yes!" All the kids said at the same time. Rick slipped the ring on her finger then leaned in kissing her over and over again, picking her up as he stood on his feet.

"I love you," Michonne whispered when he stopped kissing her. He set her feet on the floor and all the kids stepped up to give her a hug.

"Can we go eat now?" Andre asked. Over the excitement and PDA that he saw far too much of when it came to Rick and his mom.

"You done here?" Rick asked Michonne. Ready to stop sharing her with the school for the day.

"I'm all set." She wasn't, but there was no way she was going to go back to decorating walls when she could be with her family for the rest of the day. She went to grab her bag that hung from the back of her chair.

"How bout we let your mom pick where we eat since it's her birthday." The kids seemed to agree since no grumbling or whining was heard. "What do you have a taste for?" Taking in her lust filled gaze, he rephrased his question. "What kind of food do you have a taste for?"

"I am starving all of a sudden."

"Anywhere you want to go," he took her bag and they started walking towards the door.

"You know what I really want?" She said after thinking for a few minutes.

"Pizza!" Andre shouted.

"Chicken Nuggets," Judith yelled.

"Can we let her tell us?" All three kids stood outside her door and waited for her answer. "What do you really want?"

"Onion rings," she said with a knowing smile watching Rick slowly catch on.

"Really?" he asked. She nodded her head, wiping a few falling tears away. "Onion rings it is then."

THE END


End file.
